Consequences
by Loisceles
Summary: One Halloween night Hermione saw a figure walk into the forbidden forest and she unwisely followed. HermioneDraco fic. Non compatible with HBP
1. The last resource

**_Disclaimer:_** _This story is based in characters owned by JK Rowling, so I have no claiming over them._

Author notes: This is an experiment, the first fanfic in english I publish in this site, comments are much appreciated.

For what concerns to this story HBP never happened, and they are already in their 7th year, so they are 17 now.

**Warning:** This chapter has violence and rape in it, consider yourselves warned.

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Chapter 01. ****The Last Resource.**

The library was in silence and utterly quiet and Hermione was busy finishing her advanced potion's homework. No one was in the place. Why would they? After all it was Halloween and all Hogwarts' students were at the feast in the Great Hall. Not her, she hadn't wanted to attend the feast, feeling somewhat depressed and furious with everybody without really knowing why. She had fought with Ron that very morning, again, it was getting ridicule; she couldn't even remember what the disagreement had been about this time! What she remembered was both boys telling her not to bother them anymore.

She was sick and tired of it, of being the voice of reason, of her two friends, of having to be the one who always got them to do their school duties, one would think that after all these years they would have learned to do them by themselves. But at their seventh and last year in Hogwarts, they still seemed as childish as when she first met them. They still said they didn't need her bossiness. Well then, to hell with them! She didn't need more troubles or more death escapes in her life; she didn't need them hurting her feelings without even notice or care.

None of them had moved a finger to make her stay at the feast; maybe they didn't even notice she was depressed. She was going to spend the night alone, and the rest of the week too, and all the bloody term if she had to, but they were not hurting her again!

It was getting late, the only reason why she was allowed to be there in the first place was because of her Head Girl status, but she couldn't sleep in the library, so she sighed and retrieved her things to leave.

She was walking as slowly as possible to the castle when she spotted a cloaked figure getting out of it and heading to the forbidden forest, she looked intently at it as a furious wind lifted the hood a little, revealing blond hair. Hermione's heart jumped. That was Draco Malfoy, she was sure of it. And he was heading to the school limits. Hermione felt a shiver ran down her body, she vaguely remembered the last Order meeting, when Professor Snape had voiced his concern that on Halloween Voldemort will have a few new Death Eaters, the image of Malfoy taking the dark mark took a sudden finality in her mind, and she had no doubt that the boy was heading towards his initiation. The next day Draco Malfoy would be a Death Eater. She looked at the hooded figure and, without thinking what she was doing, she left her things and followed.

They entered the Forbidden Forest, Hermione was thinking about what she was going to do now; she couldn't let Malfoy join the Death Eaters. It was silly, she knew she was being stubborn and childish, that she was acting over a infatuation, but she just couldn't stop thinking that maybe there was a nicest side of Draco Malfoy, that maybe if things were different, and if Malfoy's parents weren't so narrow minded, maybe they could fall in love. It was childish! She knew it, Malfoy was just a crush, and she wasn't in love with him! But still, lately she had found herself so many nights wondering... And suddenly she remembered what the disagreement with Ron had been this time, she had been analyzing the fact that Malfoy had changed lately, he didn't make rude comments anymore, he didn't jump to every opportunity to fight with them for whatever reason, it seemed to her he had matured, of course both of her friends had been utterly annoyed that she could think such a bastard like Malfoy could ever change, that he would like to be any other than a murderer, follower of Voldemort, they had told her to think things straight.

She couldn't let him be a Death Eater; she had to find the way to stop him, even if Malfoy didn't want to be stopped. She won't let him do what she believed would be the worst mistake of his life. Maybe if they talked, perhaps she could make him see that Voldemort wasn't a good option and that he'll end up dead or worse, maybe she could find the way to change his mind.

They had not gone too far into the forest, but the magical barrier protecting Hogwarts was already behind them. Hermione tried to go faster, intent on reaching the boy, she took out her wand and soon she had him on her line of vision, she pointed the wand at him and tried not to waver.

"Stupefy!"

Unfortunately, Malfoy had heard her approach, she was making too much noise, and the boy ducked in time to dodge her hex, he quickly turned to face her, wand in hand.

"Expelliarmus!"

She took cover behind a tree just in time, trying to get a better angle for attacking the boy, she couldn't see clearly, she muttered a Lumos and took a cautious peek around the tree, only to be face to face with the blond boy who didn't waste time in niceties.

"Crucio!"

"Aaah!"

The curse hit her square on the chest throwing her to the ground, when it finally subsided she was panting, all her muscles sore with dull ache, she didn't hear Malfoy approaching until he was over her.

"Oh my, look who we have here. You lost something in the forest mudblood?"

The insult lacked its normal venom; it seemed as if Malfoy was saying the word more because he was used to it than because he actually meant it. The boy turned to leave.

"Go to your tower Gryffindor, only fools are out in the forest."

"Cough, Malfoy... wait... where are you going?" She sat on the ground with effort, Draco glared at her.

"That's none of your business mudblood! Get out of my sight!"

"Don't do it Malfoy... You-Know-Who won't give you anything but misery! He'll kill you eventually!"

The blonde's eyebrows lifted in annoyed surprise, this girl was actually trying to stop him?! Well fuck her! He didn't need anyone's pity, much less a mudblood's.

"And why do you care Granger? Wouldn't it be nice for you and your pitiful friends to be rid of me? Maybe you're worried that I'll get the chance to kill you three first!"

"Please Malfoy, don't go to him, there are other ways..."

"And what makes you think I want any other?! Eh? What makes you think I don't want the power the Dark Lord can grant me? Maybe there is no brain after all inside that messy head of you!"

"You don't want it! I know you don't! You're different; you had changed since last year! You don't want to go kneeling in front of a pathetic wizard that can't even get himself rid of a boy...!"

"Crucio!!"

She screamed again and Malfoy wanted to just shut her up. He didn't want to hear her, he had made his choice already and he didn't need a reminder of what he was going to do, not from the people that should care less about his choices.

"You have no idea what you're talking about Granger! Go back to the castle if you can! I'm not going to listen to your nonsense!"

Malfoy turned to leave again, but the pained voice of the beaten girl still reached him, she was too stubborn for her own good.

"Cough... you can't... do it Malfoy... It is not in you! You can't go and do the horrible things they do!"

It was more a hope than a fact and Hermione knew it, but the boy stopped nonetheless, angry grey eyes looked at her.

"You think I can't, what? Murder? Torment people? For someone that has taken a crucio from my hands that's not a very good observation."

He crouched in front of the girl, one of his hands took her by the neck and pushed her to the ground, another took her right wrist and clutched it, making her release the wand at the pressure, she could barely breath.

"Maybe I'll kill you. That certainly would prove you wrong, no Granger?"

He added pressure to his grip, surrounding her neck with his two hands, moving so he was now sitting over her stomach, his legs at her sides, Hermione trashed under him, trying to rid herself of his body, but he was too heavy for her, she grabbed his arms, desperately trying to make him release the grip, suddenly the pressure was gone and she coughed, her hands massaging her sore neck.

"I can kill you mudblood, but then you won't be there to see how wrong you were."

He took on her figure; helpless now under him, and a thought entered his mind. Well, anyway this was going to be his last night, right? No consequences to face in the morning. And just in case he survived, surely wonder boy Potter would be anxious to avenge his friend; maybe he even could make the fool boy kill him. He took hold of the girl's wrists and put them over her head, muttering a soft incantation, making a vine to grew and capture his prey, effectively tying her to the ground, Malfoy then proceeded to open her blouse, Hermione gasped in sudden fear.

"Malfoy! What are you doing? Get off me! Ow!" The boy backhanded her before exposing her torso and got rid of her bra forcefully, taking in her well done form.

"Why, proving you wrong Granger. It seems you don't believe me capable of things like this for some reason, so I guess I have to make you see your mistake in a more graphic manner."

"No! Aaah!"

Malfoy toyed with her nipples, then he started to get rid of the rest of her school uniform, it was a troublesome task with her legs trying to hit him, but a last crucio put her into submission. When finally he had her naked, with only her blouse hanging from her tied arms, he cast another charm to bind her ankles to nearby trees, opening her wide and lifting her a little from the ground, leaving the girl in a comfortable position for him to do as he pleased, Hermione tried to fight her bonds to no avail, soon Malfoy was over her again.

"No! Not like this! Please Malfoy stop it!"

"Silencio!"

The boy waved his wand a last time at her and she lost her voice temporally, then he returned to roam her body, she had fair, soft skin, it was a shame that he had to do this on the forest's ground, he put his mouth on one of her breasts, sucking and biting the hard nipple, feeling her silent gasps at his ministrations, he continued caressing her roughly, feeling her breathing grew more anxious. He didn't try to prepare her, it was not his intention to make things any easier for the girl, he took her hips and after a moment hesitation he thrust easily into her, ignoring her silent scream of pain and the tears that were leaving trails on her cheeks, he discovered something and was not too happy about it, but he wasn't about to show her that, it would ruin the effect.

"So Granger, still a virgin? Guess the weasel isn't good even for that! Would you tell him who was your first?"

The girl tried to bury her face in her arm, Malfoy didn't mind it, he continued what he had started, intent on hurting her, on showing her the monster he really was.

Hermione couldn't hold the silent gasps of pain as she was used mercilessly by the boy she was trying to save, the boy she wanted and loved. Some dark part of her mind actually liked the situation and she recoiled in fear and shame. How could she? How could she even face her friends again knowing that she was an utter disgrace? Knowing that she had almost enjoyed being raped? Only because her rapist was Draco Malfoy! But he hadn't killed her, and he could have done it so easily. How she dared have hope at this moment!? She almost wished for him to kill her when he finished, it would serve her right!

Malfoy came quickly, forgetting for a precious second who he was and what he was doing. He collapsed over the girl while he collected himself, then he stood and arranged his clothing, without a glance to the female body on the ground he cast a '_Finite Incantatem'_ and released her, turning away once more to leave.

"Hope you learned your lesson Granger. If I come back, and the beasts of the forest hadn't killed you, I'll be more than happy to tell Weasley what a good fuck you are. You think he'll strangle me then?"

Hermione watched Malfoy's retreating back, and her mind worked fiercely to make sense of his words. '_If I come back… does that mean that maybe he won't?'_ Something clicked in her brain and suddenly she understood where Malfoy was heading. He was looking for death.

"I'll tell them you made love to me"

The blond boy stopped on his tracks, not believing his ears; maybe Granger was too shocked to realize what she was saying. He slowly turned to the half- naked girl that sat on the ground and eyed her curiously.

"What?"

"You heard me." Hermione had reached her cloak and held it tightly to her chest, concealing her retrieved wand in it "I'll go and tell them you made love to me, maybe Professor Snape will be a little shaken, but they'll believe me..." she trailed off, quite unsure of what else to say, what would make the boy come just a little closer, she made a desperate try. "After all, your child would resemble you. I forgot to mention that I drank a fertility potion."

Draco was already stunned at the notion of his godfather knowing what he had done, despite everything he still looked at the man as his main male figure, he respected him way more than he respected his own father, his only regret at the decision he had made was that his godfather would be utterly disappointed of him for not being strong enough to take his place as a Death Eater, he almost missed her last words, a child? Surely she was lying to him; there was no way she could have done such an idiotic thing! He walked to the girl again, suddenly wanting to shake her into her senses.

"What did you say? Are you nuts?"

"Stupefy!"

The hex took the boy by surprise, and he collapsed to the ground with a look of shock on his face. Hermione was shaking, she slowly got dressed and tried to stand, the after-effects of the cruciatus merged with the pain between her legs left her muscles weak and sore, she started to cry and couldn't stop; she practically crawled over to the blond and cradled him in her arms, feeling stupid for doing so. After a while she managed to put herself into some resemblance of calm and to control her muscles once more, she stood up and levitated the unresisting body back to the castle. He was not going to die pretending to take the dark mark that night, not ever if she could help it, although it was a slim hope to expect Malfoy to change his mind, she would do anything in her power to make him.

TBC


	2. Aftermath

Thanks a lot to Audrey and Shelly Ann for doing the beta.

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Chapter 02 Aftermath**

The Great Hall was much too crowded for her hurting head, she had stubbornly rejected the idea of going to the hospital wing the previous night, she would have had to explain too many things and she didn't want to. Her muscles still ached a little but it was slowly receding, thank God it was Saturday, no lessons today, she was only here because the hunger was surprisingly too much to take, and after skipping breakfast, her friends would began to wonder if she was alright. She made her way to the Gryffindor table and took a seat, trying not to wince in discomfort. Ron Weasley immediately turned to her.

"Hermione! Where have you been? Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine Ron, thanks; I just spent the night studying." Yeah, sure, and the soreness between her legs this morning was for being in the chair too long. But Ron believed her and rolled his eyes.

"For Merlin's sake 'Mione! You left the last Halloween feast to study? You missed all the fun!"

"Really?"

Hermione started to eat, half listening to Ron's rambling about how Neville managed to get McGonagall completely covered in pumpkin cream. Her gaze wandered over to the Slytherin table. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, she looked at the main table where only half of the teachers were eating at the moment. Snape was there, he seemed curiously proud for some reason. Harry's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Would you look at that? The bastard! I bet he's enjoying his newly acquired attention."

The girl turned to look at the doors, Malfoy was making his entrance to the Hall, surrounded by at least ten of the Slytherins. She couldn't help but stare at the group as they walked to their table. "I didn't think the Dark Mark had that many followers." Harry muttered darkly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It had been like this since breakfast, you should have seen it 'Mione" Ron answered her "They were even cheering him!"

"I don't know why he even returned" said Harry disdainfully "He should have stayed with the rest of the Death Eaters now; Enjoyed the new company!"

"How do you know he's taken the dark mark? Maybe there's another reason..."

"Oh, come on Hermione! What else would it be?" said Ron

"Besides," said Harry, "he disappeared from the feast early and no one saw him until this morning. He's been receiving congratulations from half the Slytherins, and glares from the other half. It makes me sick."

"It still can be for another reason..."

"Stop defending the ferret, 'Mione! Sometimes you're too naive." said Ron in exasperation, Harry continued.

"Yes 'Mione, you know as well as us that Malfoy's deepest wish has always been following his father's footsteps. He's going to use that dark mark proudly. You just wait 'till we're out of school. He won't be able to stop himself from rubbing it into our noses."

"And we'll gladly wipe the floor with him when he does! Right mate?"

"Right."

"You'll see 'Mione, Harry and I can take care of the bastard in seconds!"

She looked intently at the blond boy, who was now sitting between Crabbe and Goyle, seemingly ignoring his house mates. She then turned again to her potion's professor. Yes, the proud look was still there. So, Snape really was happy that his most powerful student hadn't taken the mark. Because Hermione knew he hadn't, her friends didn't know she had followed Malfoy last night, determined to stop him, and she had succeeded... at a prize.

Suddenly she lost all her appetite, feeling sick. Of course she wouldn't tell anybody a thing of what happened last night. Never! What would they think? She already felt like a pervert; like a dirty thing. No matter how many hours she had spent in the Head girl's bathroom after coming back, she knew the feeling of filth wouldn't go away. Hermione was so ashamed of herself, of having let him rape her. She knew she hadn't asked for it, and that he hadn't asked her for consent. He had forced her! But the fact was, he took what she would have freely offered, and that in some dark place of her soul, she had welcomed it. What he'd done to her hadn't mattered. It only mattered that it was him!

Hermione looked at the blond boy again, he was not looking her way, he was altogether averting looking at Gryffindor table. Of course he wouldn't care of her well being, why would he? She just stopped him from achieving his greatest desire! She had left him stupefied in one of the classrooms and had charmed the door so he couldn't get out until morning. Of course he wouldn't appreciate what she had done, but she had to do it. He was going to his death and, for some unfathomable reason, she couldn't let him. So she had given him the opportunity to humiliate her, and now she was wishing he'd feel something for her? How foolish! He took everything she had to give, her body, her virginity... a mudblood's virginity.

Of course he didn't care.

She felt her tears swelling in her eyes and stood abruptly, Ron watched her worriedly.

"'Mione? Are you alright?"

"Incredible how you can judge a person without knowing the facts."

And she left in a hurry, leaving a round eyed Ron and a scowling Harry behind.

"What's gotten into her?" said Ron, barely getting out of his shock. Harry looked back at the Slytherin table and glared.

"I don't know. She has been too intent in defending Malfoy lately. I've been thinking that maybe she wishes he was different."

"Don't be silly Harry, after all the things the bastard has done to us! She's just too sensible for her own good. We're going to have to keep the prat out of her mind and she'll be back to normal."

"Well, we can try. No more talking about Malfoy in front of her then, right?"

"Right."

She ran through the castle's halls, finally getting to the dungeons, she took one of the many secret passages that was scattered all over the place, and then she just stopped and curled in a tight ball on the ground, crying. Why? Why was she so obsessed with him? He never had been anything but a malicious prat! He hated her! And still she couldn't bear the idea of him being a Death Eater, of him being murdered.

She didn't know what to do. She should be hating him, loathing him for what he did to her! She had wanted her first time to be special. She had so wanted to see his eyes filled with passion, not a huge blank, like she was nothing but a thing to use. Over the last months she had managed to convince herself that it was only a crush, that the attraction she felt for Malfoy would go away at the first insult he threw her way, but she still felt the necessity to see him. Maybe she could manage to get him to be with her again, even if he didn't love her. After all why he would? She didn't love him either, she had just gotten an insane obsession that was tearing her apart, but then, she had ceased to believe in love long ago, since she realized her infatuation with Ron was only a child's crush. And after what had happened with Malfoy, she didn't want anything to do with anyone, maybe she couldn't love anymore. But she still wanted him. Odd, he was the one man she should be swearing not to be near to ever again. Yet here she was, wishing she could be with him. She felt strangely owned in a way. She had started to think she had gone insane, but couldn't help it!

Her friends would never know what a disgrace she was. She would try to forget Halloween's night ever happened. She would try her damnedest to shoot it out of her mind. She'd pretend to be just the normal, bossy Hermione. Malfoy had surely forgotten her already.

She so hated herself.

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Draco Malfoy was in front of his Head of House's office door, wishing he could just leave and ignore the direct order from the potions master to report, he had been avoiding the man all day, not wanting to see the utter disappointment that was sure to be in his eyes. He was after all his uncle, and his godfather. Damn Granger! This shouldn't be happening! What was he going to say? Sorry I didn't make it to the initiation Sir, but I was busy making my point to a stupid girl that got in my way? Raping her? I know that couldn't take me all night, but the funny thing is that, after finishing, I foolishly let her stupify me and I spent the rest of the night in a bloody classroom! That would be appalling! If his father knew, Draco was sure he'd be in deep trouble for being so careless as to let his victim get the upper hand on him, and would be severely punished for it. Snape however, being after all a Hogwarts professor and having to keep appearances, would ask why in hell Malfoy hadn't just obliviated the girl in question, so she wouldn't go to Dumbledore and send him to Azkaban, besides being pretty pissed of at him for being so stupid as to trespass the rules like that.

He knew Snape wouldn't punish him for not being at his Death Eater initiation, but he knew he would demand a reason for his absence, and Draco was not, for the life of him, going to tell the truth. He had received a letter from his father in the morning, where he had been told how very displeased Malfoy Senior was, it hadn't been very important, after all, he had never been good enough for his father. Never good enough to live up to the Malfoy standard, but his father wasn't here and he'd deal with his punishment later. Now Severus Snape was his immediate problem, he couldn't go in there and say _'Sorry godfather, but the real thing is that I don't actually see any advantages to being a Death Eater, and I don't want to be one'_ He'd be dead on the spot!... Well, on second thought maybe that wasn't such a bad an idea, he had been planning to already be dead anyway.

He had known for some years now, thanks to his father, that all aspirants to become one of the Dark Lord followers went through a dangerous test. You have only two ways of getting out of the initiation, a Death Eater or a corpse, and Draco had been aiming for the latter. He hadn't seen any other way out. He couldn't just refuse and hide. His father would find him eventually, and then it would be much worse. He absolutely refused to go to Dumbledore, he just didn't like the man, and much less trust him, he was nothing but a racket old wizard, powerful yes, but with the annoying tendency to manipulate all people around him, using their flaws and weaknesses to make them what he wanted, he failed to see what was so different between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, both of them were bastards that used people for their own purposes, only in a different way.

Draco was tired of being used, tired of his life, of having to live up to someone else's wishes, he didn't want anything to do with it anymore. Maybe he should go to the astronomy tower and take a shortcut back to the ground, or maybe Granger would be so kind as to tell wonder boy and the weasel what he had done and save him the trouble, for they would surely kill him, but somehow he doubted she'd do anything to make his crime known, he still didn't know what had gotten in to him to lay hands on her, maybe he had been so sure of his imminent death that he simply hadn't cared, maybe he just had wanted to make sure that someone would actually be happy that he had ceased to exist. But she stopped him, why had she done it was beyond his comprehension.

He'll have to leave it for later, first things first, and he couldn't make Professor Snape wait. Still unsure of what he was going to say he called at the door, it opened at his first touch and the potions master's voice could be heard.

"Get in Mr. Malfoy."

Breathing deeply, Draco braced himself and entered. Professor Snape was behind his desk, grading reports; he lifted his eyes briefly to signal a chair in front of him, the boy took his seat. The teacher finished the last paper and put the lot of them besides, then looked directly at Draco.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, I couldn't help but notice that you got bored of the Halloween feast early, not that it was an important event, but it certainly was your last at Hogwarts."

"Yes Sir, I was not entirely comfortable."

"I see, and did you seek solace somewhere else? Many of your House mates told me you didn't appear all night."

_'Here we go'_ Draco thought and gulped, maybe his godfather would remain cryptic, and didn't demand a direct answer out of him.

"Well, I was doing some thinking, time just passed by without noticing."

"Thinking? Something troubles you Mr. Malfoy?"

_'Oh no, not at all, only my entire family think is a great honor to go and humiliate themselves at some mad man's feet!'_ Draco couldn't say that aloud, so he said instead:

"No Sir, I just realized life is a bit... complicated."

"Oh, considering your options then. And have you made a final decision?"

"I have yes" _'But someone had to come and spoil it'_ He tried not to think about said someone.

"Is your father aware of that?"

"Not yet sir, I still have to tell him that I am considering some choices, it will have to wait."

"Wait? Why Mr. Malfoy? Some second thoughts about your future?"

Snape was looking at him like he could read his mind, Draco thought, not for the first time, that this would be so much easier if at least his godfather wasn't a Death Eater himself. True, he never witnessed the man being over cruel to anyone, like his father was, but he had seen him in the meetings that took place at Malfoy manor, even before the return of the Dark Lord... and recently he had seen his mark. He was not willing to accept the fact, that the only man he truly respected, was one more of the fools that pledged their lives to make true the worthless ideal of a dark wizard, that didn't consider his followers more than mere tools, but he couldn't deny it, and he knew he could not trust his uncle.

"No Sir, only wondering if it wouldn't be better to finish school, before I make any other moves, there are so many people watching on me already, many of them would realize if I happen to do things out of the ordinary." - _'Like having my arm branded with the dark mark'_

"Mmm, I see... so, you want to finish your studies before fulfilling your father's expectancies?"

"Yes Sir, I feel I'll still be able to learn useful things in the time I have."

"I was under the impression that you already know all the magic you'll need young Malfoy."

"Sir, there are other things besides magic."

Snape seemed to be considering this, Draco wished it was enough. He knew it wouldn't be for his father, but he had the hope that his uncle won't be too eager to see him among the Dark Lord's ranks, after all, he had always supported his mother Narcissa, when she opposed to the idea of Lucius getting him to meet the Dark Lord before, saying he was still too young. The potions master finally reached a conclusion.

"Fine Mr. Malfoy, you seem to be quite sure that it's the best way to take, and maybe you can discover some valuable information for your own benefit. I'll see that your father is aware of this. You can leave."

"Thank you, Sir."

Draco had to stop himself from sighing in relief, he stood and walked out of the office, feeling as if he had got through the wizarding tournament all by himself. He had bought some time, he just had to find out exactly what to do with it.

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Snape watched the boy leave with much more confidence than he arrived, it had been a nice surprise, and a welcomed one, not having seen the young Malfoy among the little group of initiates that cowered at the Dark Lord's feet on Halloween night. To say that Lucius Malfoy had not been pleased was an understatement. The blond had been furious! He had given his son the order, in no uncertain terms, to be there to accept the Dark Mark. Malfoy had been confident that the boy was ready to be honored in such a way and was powerful enough to pass the initiation test, he had been counting on it to impress the Dark Lord, and reinforce his own status among the Death Eaters, which had been hard to maintain since he escaped Azkaban a year ago. And Draco hadn't been there! Whatever the reason, it hardly mattered why, the fact was that he hadn't gone, he had disobeyed his father, and with that he had showed that maybe he wasn't so fond of the future he had been taught to be destined to after all.

It was a direct affront to Malfoy Senior; the boy had practically refused his father's authority. It was an insult that Lucius would surely punish as soon as he got his hands on his son. The only thing that had saved Malfoy from the Dark Lord's wrath, was that he hadn't informed his master of the expected arrival of his heir, his plan had been to fake surprise at Draco's earnest will to serve the Dark Lord, and then emphasize the fact that a Malfoy had more incentive and courage than the rest of the wizards. The Death Eaters, Snape included, had lost no time in laughing at his expense for his ruined plan, and some had taunted him with the statement that his son was not so loyal to the cause as he liked to say, that he had chickened out seeing that he was not so powerful as he believed, or maybe he even wasn't a real Dark wizard, maybe he even had turned traitor. Yes, Lucius was furious with his son.

Snape on the other hand, had been utterly pleased, both at the humiliation of Lucius, and at Draco's absence, he and his cousin, Narcissa, had been trying to lessen the influence of her husband on the boy without being too obvious, it seemed like they had succeed a little, at least Draco was starting to make his own choices. Severus still wasn't so sure if the boy really intended to become a Death Eater later, a little more ready for the task, or if he simply had started to consider it more carefully. Narcissa was sure it was the last and Snape really hoped so. Draco was in his own right a powerful and intelligent wizard, it would be a shame if he pledged his alliance to a man that would give him nothing but humiliation and death. Well, he had made his move, while the boy stayed in Hogwarts he'd be safe from his father, and Snape knew it. He didn't know what Draco's last choice would be but there was still time. He was sure that the young man would ponder his options carefully. He really hoped his godson would avert from the faith that he himself had unwisely accepted so long ago.

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Draco made his the way to Slytherin house. It was already late and the dungeons were lonely but he didn't mind. He had to think of what to do now that he had practically assured his uncle he'd be ready to take the Dark Mark at the end of the school year. For now he was breathing more freely, his most immediate trouble had been, if not completely solved, at least postponed.

It was a relief to see that the man hadn't seem disappointed at Draco's disobedience. Maybe he believed it was too soon for his nephew to enter the circle of the Dark Lord's followers. Whatever the reason, he had in a way supported Draco's choice over his father's, and the boy was feeling grateful for it. Perhaps he could nurse the hope of trusting his uncle and speaking to him of his doubts. Snape had been a good counsellor in the past; maybe he could help Draco with his dilemma. The blond shook his head, to trust his godfather he had to first be sure that he wouldn't end up betrayed at his father's mercy. He'd pay more attention to his uncle and then he'd see if he could trust him.

In the meantime, Draco had suggested that he could use his time at Hogwarts learning valuable things, and his uncle would probably want to question him from time to time, to see if he had been making advances. It wouldn't be much trouble, already the majority of his house mates had unwisely revealed to him quite a lot of things. He just had to choose which ones he would say to their potions professor.

It was almost funny, for an instant, when he finally managed to get to his common room. All the Death Eater's children had been already told that he hadn't made an appearance to the initiation as expected, and many had been seeing him as a traitor but still Draco had been rather shocked when some of them had showed him support. Then there was all the faction of Slytherin that were openly opposed to the Dark Lord, and upon seeing his lack of Dark Mark, had taken it for granted that he had refused the dark side, and had been congratulating him all day.

His fellow seventh years had all kinds of reactions. Crabbe and Goyle had known him since childhood, and for some reason, they thought that Draco was always right about everything. He knew they would even take his word over their parents'. Whichever side the blond chose, both of them would follow. As for the others, all the girls, except Pansy Parkinson who was not talking to him, seemed to be considering things, Theodore Nott had confronted him straight, even called him a blood traitor, and Zabini was just ignoring him, simply for the reason that the boy was still not so sure himself of his choice, but it had seemed that Draco's refusal to the initiation had pushed him towards doing the same. Other students that had been neutral or undecided had looked to him as example.

He was sure that by the next day, all of his house would have thought about things and many would regret having been so open with him, but the damage was already done. Draco knew in what side each one of his house mates was standing, and he was sure that now Dumbledore would find many supporters among the Slytherins. The boy snorted at the irony. It seemed that his little 'accident' in the forbidden forest had unintentionally helped the old bat.

His 'accident'…

Now he could start worrying about that. Granger had been intent in stopping him for no apparent reason. It was pretty obvious that she hadn't told anyone what had happened and Draco wanted to know why. He knew that approaching her and just asking was out of the question as she had hated him since their first year. Surely now her hate had intensified but still she had stopped him and he had the odd feeling that she wouldn't tell anybody what he had done to her. He wanted to know why and he was going to come up with a way to find out.


	3. Confusion

**Author notes:**

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

Just to clear some points, this is my first fanfiction published in English in this site, I have others published in AFF along with the unedited version of this one.

**

* * *

Chapter 03 Confusion.**

Over the next days, Hermione filled her hands of work, she spent the afternoons in the library, searching for topics that could be useful in class, her reports and essays grew what seemed kilometres, professor Snape glared at her homework and proceeded to inform the girl, that he had no time to read a surely bad book, the rest of the teachers however made no objections, and even congratulated her effort in besting herself, no one knew what she was really trying to do. Ron and Harry suspected something was wrong when she even offered to help other students with their homework, but Hermione wasn't telling them anything, she assured them everything was fine and that she was only trying to take out the most she could in their last year.

She wanted to forget, and letting herself get lost in work made her stop thinking about anything else. She stayed occupied all day, so at night she would feel exhausted and wouldn't have time to think, to remember. But each time she saw him in the Great Hall or in their advanced potions class and Arithmancy, the memories always came back, and in her effort of denying the abuse and humiliation he perpetrated on her, she started to change it. Her mind focused on the attraction she felt for Draco, and started to change the harsh words he had said to her for other words, the ones that she would have liked to hear, she imagined his touch a little more caring, destined to arouse her instead of hurting, her body not forced to submit but her pleading for the contact, in Hermione's mind he even kissed her with passion.

The rational part of her brain rebelled about this and insisted in bringing back the reality of what had happened, to the extent that she couldn't shut it up with books completely. Then she started to dream, about him, his grey eyes, his hands all over her, and she helpless and incapable of stopping him. Those dreams felt too real and Hermione realized startled, that she actually woke up from them aroused. The fantasies she used to have about Malfoy since last year, suddenly returned to plague her mind with a sick twist, the boy was not gentle anymore in them, he was more aggressive, completely dominant.

She felt shocked when she finally accepted that she had been exited by the rough sex, and shame made its way into her mind, but it was short lived as she convinced herself that any of that was going to happen again, she would never, ever, be with another boy, no one would touch her again, no one but him, because it was his fault she felt the way she was, he was the one who awakened these feelings in her... these needs.

Even when she knew that the actual act had not been pleasant at the moment, she was now too aware of the fact that some part of her had been aroused by it. She had panicked and had tried to bury that part, getting nothing but a miserable feeling, after all that's what you're supposed to feel when someone raped you right? Miserable and used. She had felt that way, still did, but that couldn't stop her from wishing she had felt different.

He had completely fucked up her mind, and now she was convinced that no other would have the right to be with her, no one would be able to make her feel again. Only him.

As weeks passed by and November was finishing, Hermione felt that he owned her in some sick way. She had put herself a label of propriety and found she was unwilling to take it off. When December started she finally returned doing her normal amount of work, and started to behave as if nothing had happened, she even talked with Harry and Ron, telling them that she had gotten bad news from home, one of her favourite aunts had got terribly sick and she had just been too worried about her, that she had looked for some way of distraction. They accepted her explanation and life apparently went back to normal.

* * *

Slytherin was also back to normal... at least that was what the rest of the school saw. Indoors the ambiance was so dense you could cut it with a knife. Draco's supposed refusal of the Dark Mark had started a fight of power among the house. Until now, the young Malfoy had been the leader of Slytherin, just because his family was powerful and influential in every aspect of the political and social wizarding society. They were an ancient, rich family, and held many ways of making their enemies life's a misery. Draco was the only heir of the Malfoy's pureblood line, and so he had entered school with a place in the Slytherin line of power.

Now, that structure had been shaken. A good part of Slytherin were from families that followed the Dark Lord, fully believing that the powerful wizard will win the imminent war that was to come, and they'll be the ones ruling both wizarding and muggle worlds. The Malfoys had been one of the most powerful wizards supporting this vision, the fact that Draco had rejected servitude to the Dark Lord was not only a treason to his family, but to all the pure blooded tradition and, for some people, a complete idiocy.

Like Draco had predicted, once his housemates cooled themselves and started to think things over, they realized that Malfoy had never actually said he had refused the dark mark, he didn't make it to the initiation true, but it could have been for a large number of reasons, one of them was cowardice, many still considered treason as the most likely, but there had been no signal of Draco going to Dumbledore, or changing sides openly. The slytherins were starting to suspect that the young Malfoy planned something and then they realized that the blond now knew the preferences of practically everyone of his housemates, and none of them knew for certain in which side he was. Draco never gave any explanation for the Halloween night, no one had seen him, and nobody knew what had happened. The Death Eater's children had been told to keep an eye on him, and that innerved them, even more so because Snape, who they believed to be fully on the Dark side, acted as though nothing was amiss. All the internal factions of Slytherin were trying to make some sense of it all.

So, Draco was no more the house leader, many of his housemates were fighting for that title, and all of them were putting a lot of pressure to make him reveal what he was playing at. The boy had been extremely careful the last few weeks, he was powerful and smart, but the slytherins were the best at psychological wars, he was sure that if it hadn't been for Crabbe and Goyle, he would have resided in the hospital wing the majority of the month. It was much to his advantage the fact that seventh year prefects got their private bedrooms, without it he'll have no place inside his house where he could be safe. He spent most of his free time in there, avoiding the common room as much as possible. Lucius had written him again, but he neglected answering his father's demand of an explanation, there was no point in doing it, he didn't have any kind of explanation, so he opted for ignoring the letter and concentrating on surviving his housemates.

Winter break was approaching and Draco had no intention to return home for it, at least it'll be quiet when all the students get away. He had been thinking about Granger too, he had been observing her, hoping to get a clue as to why anyone had yet jumped to him with the news that he'd been expelled. She was acting a little out of character, it wasn't as if she'd never before tried to impress the teachers with her homework, but the things she had been presenting resembled books more than simple reports. The boy could see that her friends were worried, but still no accusations came his way. A few times he had caught her watching him oddly, as though she was daydreaming, it had the blond intrigued, and he had even hoped she came searching for him, but it didn't happen and his curiosity just grew. She should be hating and despising him, not daydreaming in the middle of Potions and Arithmancy!

Lately, Draco had found himself thinking about what had happened that Halloween night. He wasn't feeling guilty, the girl had been looking for it, poking her nose where no one had called her, she had had the delusion that Draco wasn't capable of inflicting real harm on a human being, she hadn't believed he could join the Death Eaters. Well she was wrong! About the inflicting harm part anyway, that was not the reason because he didn't want to become a Death Eater, he was quite capable of making an enemy suffer, but he was reticent to follow a crazed man that wanted to murder half the wizarding population, and have the rest as servants cowering before him, ready to dance like fools for his entertainment.

The worst part was that he was still convinced that the Dark Lord will win, despite everything Dumbledore would manage to concoct; there simply was no one that matched the power of Voldemort. He didn't understand why everybody watched Potter as their saviour, the only thing the bastard had was an ungodly amount of luck, and that wouldn't help him when the Dark Lord finally got his complete power back, which was going to happen soon if his father's assurances were to be believed. Well, the world will soon gain a fine resemblance to hell, Draco would probably miss the big part, he'd rather be dead when the time comes, maybe it was just cowardice on his part, but anyway, one bloody Gryffindor had to come and insert herself in his plans. What had she been thinking anyway? It was a stupid thing to do! And now it seemed like he wouldn't be able to get her out of his mind.

He was walking in the open grounds near the school doors, thinking. Maybe he'll be better just forgetting it, he certainly had no desire to bring the subject to light, nor was he was about to talk with the Gryffindor about it. The girl didn't want to accuse him, which was clear by now, so he really didn't have to worry about it.

He reached one of the walls at one side of the castle and leaned his back against it, crossing his arms at his chest. Maybe it'll be better to leave that matter at peace, nothing could be done about it anyway, he was not sorry for what he'd done, and it seemed like Granger was doing just fine by herself... not that it mattered to him what she did to deal with her problems, after all she was the one that had followed him, she got what she asked for.

It hadn't been pleasurable in itself, he really hadn't taken the time for enjoying the feel of her, he had acted fast, only trying to hurt. It had been the first time he had forced someone, all the sex he'd had previously had been consented to, he had had a few secret encounters at his home, and Pansy Parkinson was his usual partner at Hogwarts since last year, but that was just for nothing better being available, as his father had seen fit to inform the parent's of all the rest of the Slytherin girls that, Draco was to marry Pansy and they better not put any troubles to it. The young Malfoy had no intention to fulfil his father's wishes, he didn't like the girl at all, she was shallow, utterly boring and complained about everything. If sex were to be taken in consideration, Blaise Zabini was much better than her, but he had to go and fall in love with a Ravenclaw bitch who was much too jealous for her own good.

It was a shame that he wouldn't have the chance to repeat the experience with Granger in another context, she had a well done body, he never had thought of the bossy Gryffindor in that way, but he had to admit it was not an unpleasant image, the texture of her skin had been soft, and her breasts firm, he hadn't kissed her but he imagined soft, full lips, his tongue entering her mouth to explore... Now who was daydreaming?

He sighed, his life really sucked at the time, and his sexual life was no better, he found himself suddenly comparing Pansy with Granger. Draco had been no virgin the first time he and Pansy came together, neither was she, the boy couldn't imagine how that was possible seeing the way she conducted herself in bed. Granger had been a virgin. That fact had been nudging at him since that night. Maybe he did feel a little guilty, his father had told him when he'd come of age to have sex, that he must make the first time of a woman something special, and she'll do anything for him afterwards. Lucius was no doubt thinking of a pureblooded woman as potential partner for his son, but still the boy felt as if he had to feel guilty over that fact.

"Draco!"

A feminine high pitched voice interrupted his slightly guilt ridden thoughts, and the blond had only time to turn when he felt a slap on his left cheek. Indignation made its way around shock, and Malfoy glared at the girl standing in front of him, snapping to her.

"What the hell is your problem Parkinson!"

"My problem you said? What about yours? You have been acting as if I don't exist at all!"

Draco looked at her in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? I was under the impression it was YOU who wasn't talking to ME!"

"Oh! So you noticed! Then why haven't you come to ask me why?"

"Wha...?"

Draco made an effort to follow the path of Pansy's twisted thoughts, he said very carefully:

"I think the reason was pretty obvious. You, and everyone faithful to the Dark Lord, are not taking well the fact that I'm not already a Death Eater. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Then why would I need to go asking useless questions?" Draco wanted no more than to shake the girl to make her neurons work.

"Oh, you are so full of yourself Malfoy, didn't you even think to apologise to me?"

Draco's eyes widened in surprise at this.

"What for? I didn't do a thing to you!"

"No? How you think I'm looking in front of everybody? My future husband doesn't have the guts to bear the mark of our Lord proudly! You were supposed to be the first of our generation Draco!"

The boy could feel a headache coming his way.

"For Merlin's sake! Hold your horses Parkinson, I'm not your future husband! I'm not even officially your boyfriend!"

"Oh please! When are you going to accept the fact that we're going to marry? Our parents have already settled it!"

"No, they haven't, there's no contract, and as I'm seventeen, by the wizarding law I'm an adult now, and I have full responsibility of that matter."

The girl huffed, it was not the first time they discussed the subject, and she was running out of her original complaints.

"Whatever, we can leave that for now. The point is Draco that you're not making a good impression where you have to! What have you been thinking? Do you realize the position you have lost?"

"Yes, yes, I realize! It's my problem ok?"

"Why your change of mind Draco? You don't want to be on the winning side?"

"Of course I want to! Look Parkinson it's not your business. Ok?"

The girl eyed him thoughtfully, she was used to getting away with what she wanted, and she didn't like being left out of Draco's plans, he was her fiancée, whether he liked it or not, Pansy knew that when the time came, Draco would do as his father tells him, and Malfoy senior wanted a bond with her family. The blond girl had been studying her future husband since childhood, and so far she had been satisfied with him, he was doing fairly well for his family name, now was not the time to let it all crumble to pieces, just when the Dark Lord was getting his power back. She decided to take a different approach.

"Look Draco, I'm pretty aware that you are smart, and surely you're plotting something to get advantage of this situation that you created, but I really would be more at ease if I knew for certain what you're planning."

'_Nothing really, I was just believing that I would be much better being a ghost_' Draco thought to himself, he decided that a bit of distraction could do Pansy some good. He let her get closer and started rubbing her arms.

"Look Pansy, it's a bit complicated, and I really want to finish the details a little more, do not worry about it, it's going to be worth it."

Draco managed to move with the girl, now her back was against the wall and one of his hands moved to her hips, while the other cupped her cheek, Pansy leaned into his touch, still thoughtful.

"Oh please! Would it hurt so much if you told me just a little bit?"

Pansy threw her arms around Draco's neck and pulled his face closer to hers, their lips almost touching.

"Not now, maybe later dear"

The boy moved his hand to Pansy's rear and started a circular motion, his other hand in the back of the girl's head, he leaned in a little, brushing her lips with his own.

"Not even a clue?"

"It's not necessary."

And he kissed her, a little forcefully, Pansy didn't like aggressive kisses, she liked them soft, almost only the ghost of them, she tried to retreat to complain about it, but Draco didn't let her, he pushed a little more, his tongue entering her mouth, while he imagined someone else's lips.

"Ugh, go find a room you two! Save us the view!"

Draco got out of his fantasies at the sound of the well known voice and turned around. There were the so called golden trio, Weasley seemed to be the one that spoke, a look of disgust on his face, the other two were only blushing, but Granger seemed to pale a little too fast and was looking at Pansy oddly. Malfoy couldn't help smirking.

"What a wonderful idea! Come Pansy, let's find a place where no one interrupt us, and we don't remind others of their boring lives."

He took the slytherin girl by the waist, pulling their bodies together, all the while watching Granger's reaction. Potter made a noise of disgust and said:

"Hope you enjoy it Malfoy. While you can."

"Oh, I certainly will Potter." Draco put on a feral smirk in his face; Pansy leaned into him and kissed the juncture of his neck, almost purring. Draco saw Granger getting even paler, her eyes were sending daggers at Parkinson.

'_Well, well, is that jealousy I see?'_

Draco leaned in to Pasy's caress and Granger's eyes seemed to flash, he smiled to himself and turned to the castle's entrance, almost carrying the girl at his side, not paying any heed to the other boys.

'_She IS jealous. That's interesting_' He walked to the dungeons thinking about it.


	4. Fantasies

A little warning: talking of implied slash here, nothing serious.

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**

* * *

Chapter 04 Fantasies**

Hermione entered her room and did her best to not slam the door, it had been hard enough getting away from Harry and Ron, and she still felt like strangling someone. She couldn't believe it! How dare she! The stupid, little bitch! She threw her robe angrily to the floor, then fell onto her bed sighing. What the hell was she doing? She was being ridiculous! She had no business being jealous! She was so angry at herself for feeling that way, and being so obvious about it! What was she expecting anyway? For him to come and acknowledge what happened? With an apology maybe? That was not gonna happen and she knew it. He'll continue with his life without given her a second thought. She should do the same.

After all, what did she care if the stupid prat wanted to get himself killed? Or if he became a Death Eater for that matter? It was none of her business! Yeah, sure, must have thought that before going following him on Halloween.

Now she felt stupid. She couldn't repress feeling jealous when she saw him with Parkinson, and at the same time she had felt oddly aroused. The girl sighed again, well, fighting against those feelings had done her no good, could at least get something out of them right?

Hermione replayed the scene in her mind, deliberately taking Pansy's place, imagining Draco's hand in her hair, pulling her mouth close for a hungry kiss, she licked her lips as she imagined the sensation, then touched her body the way she imagined he would, picturing his hand exploring her back while he kissed her, she unbuttoned her school shirt and loosened her bra, starting to massage her breasts, still imagining his lips in hers; then she threw her head back, as if he was kissing her neck, one of her hands grabbed a breast a little forcefully and she moaned. The gryffindor took two fingers to her mouth and sucked them, then got hold of one of her nipples with the wet fingers and pinched and pulled at it, her other hand trailed her stomach to get into the skirt and panties.

God! She was wet down there. Hermione pulled her legs wide apart as her fingers moved against her entrance, massaging and teasing, her other hand took care of the other nipple, she twisted it experimentally and the pain-pleasure she felt made her groan, the passage between her legs was more than well lubricated now and the girlrubbed her clitoris, she moaned in pleasure and continued her playuntil she felt the prickle of her orgasm.

"Mmmh! Draco!"

She felt her release and moaned in half satisfaction.

After a little while, Hermione felt the need for Malfoy arising again. It wasn't fair, why did it have to be him? With the number of well looking boys in the school! Why did she have to be obsessed with the one that hated her the most? The one she used to hate right back! She groaned in frustration and got off the bed, it was still early, maybe she could take a quick shower before dinner. It would be best to forget all about it. She would never have Draco Malfoy, but that was fine, maybe with time she would be able to forget her little obsession, in the meantime her fantasies will be enough, she couldn't have anything more.

* * *

His hands roamed along the soft skin of the body under him, while he kissed his way to a spot behind the ear of the girl, inhaling her essence, curly locks tickling his nose, he intertwined the fingers of his left hand in the messy brown hair, while caressing perfect hard breasts; he heard her moan and his mouth trailed kisses to a nipple and covered it, trying to make it hard by sucking.

"Ouch! Draco stop!"

Hands grabbed his hair, pulling his head away from his task, he blinked into the blue eyes of Pansy, her voice dragging him to the present.

"Don't do that! You know I don't like it!"

Well, what a way of getting thrown out of a nice fantasy. His hand released the hair, that was blond and straight instead of the curly brown he had been imagining. He stared into Parkinson's eyes and snapped.

"Merlin Pansy! You must be the only girl I know who doesn't like her breasts being sucked!" _'and her pussy too'_ he added privately remembering the one time he had tried to do that with her.

"Don't compare me to those commoners you like to bed during school breaks! I have far more class than them!"

'_So far no one has told me that sex is so boring'_ he thought rather sarcastically "All right!" he said aloud, not wanting the girl to get into lecture mode, and start berating him about manners in bed. "How you want it now? Just fast?"

"We have to be at dinner after all, but don't thrust too fast, go slow, you know I don't like it too hard."

"Mmm..."

Draco still continued wondering why in hell Pansy looked for him to have sex with. It was painfully obvious that she didn't like it the way he did, but she seemed determined to have a sexual relationship with the boy. Hell! She even had the nerve of being furious with him every time she discovered that he bedded one of the school girls! She didn't have any problems with the boys, but she always got mad over the girls, anyway she never did anything apart from yelling at him, all his female bed partners at Hogwarts were non slytherin, and Pansy just didn't take the time to go hunting them, besides, she knew that they were only a one time bedding, nothing really serious, and always secret. He knew that the girl had the ingrained conviction that they were going to marry someday, but still, he knew some families whose marriages were arranged, husband and wife were together just for convenience, and both parts continued having free sex life with other partners. Pansy had some strange social beliefs, but the reality was that he hadn't put much effort in getting to know her better. Seeing that they won't actually end up together, he just didn't think it necessary.

Anyway, he returned to his task with her, being with Pansy meant that he would have a fast sex release without bed play, Parkinson didn't like teasing, she didn't like to be participative either, usually she would lie in bed and let Draco do everything he wanted... well, not exactly everything, just kissing and couple, nothing more, she was passive all the time, and if he wouldn't do anything out of the 'ordinary' she wouldn't talk at all and he could imagine being with anyone else.

Now it would be hard to detach his mind like that, she had already talked, but he kissed her once more and continue to do what he had started.

She left almost immediately afterwards, and he took his time in the shower, at least there no one was going to interrupt his fantasies.

* * *

Later, Draco entered the Great Hall with Pansy at his side, he was curious to see the reaction of the slytherins when they saw both of them were on speaking terms again, but most importantly, he wanted to see what the Granger girl would do. His housemates were somewhat surprised at seeing Parkinson again with him, he could see that every one of them where wondering if she managed to get him to talk about his mysterious plot. Only Zabini smirked knowingly, he knew the blond far too well to guess that Draco had distracted the girl with sex. Pansy went to her usual seat and her friends immediately attacked her with questions. Draco felt somewhat satisfied to see her blush in shame for not being able to discover his secrets. He sat between Crabbe and Goyle as always, and looked more intently at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione Granger had gone pale when they entered the Great Hall, and now was pointedly not looking at Slytherin's table at all, from time to time however, she would move almost imperceptibly and risked a glance in Draco's direction, but nothing more.

Malfoy was truly enjoying himself now. It seemed that the female of the golden trio felt a certain degree of attraction to the enemy. The little guilt that Draco had felt regarding Halloween night was vanishing into thin air. He now remembered something that had escaped his mind before: he had had no troubles entering her that night, she had been wet enough for him to thrust into easily, she only felt pain because she was a virgin and he had done everything possible to make the act highly uncomfortable, but still the fact was that she had been wet. Why feel guilty when by all appearances Granger wouldn't mind another go?

It mustn't be normal, that was for sure, you rarely heard of people enjoying rape, if that was the case he supposed the girl must have some undefined sex troubles, same as Pansy, but Granger's situation was by far more enjoyable, at least the way he saw it. Maybe he was misreading the signs, and it was all his own sudden interest in the gryffindor girl which was talking, but there was only one way to know for sure, and he was definitely going to find out. After all, life was too short, for him it was sure to be even shorter, so why not enjoy it while he can? That was what Potter said wasn't it?

He displayed a little feral smile to the girl in one of her glances at him, and was then satisfied to see her blush a deep red and avert her eyes hurriedly, trying her best to ignore him. Yes, he was definitely going to enter Hermione Granger's life, for better or for worse it didn't matter, it would be good entertainment until he left this world, and she'd enjoy it... he'll make her enjoy it.

* * *

Hermione woke up startled the next day, and hurried to the bathroom, she fell to her knees in front of the sink and emptied the contents of her stomach. After a while she rinsed her mouth and shakily got into her bed again. She hated feeling nauseous, this made no sense to her, it was the fourth day she woke up to have to run into the bathroom. What had possibly made her ill? She hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary, unless one of the girls had put something in a candy, she'll have to go to Madam Pomfrey to be sure she didn't catch a stomach infection since she didn't want to spend Christmas ill.

The girl undressed slowly, and with a towel and bathrobe in hand, again went into the bathroom. The warm water from the shower made her feel better. She forgot about her sickness and as she started washing her messy hair, her mind wandered automatically to the Malfoy heir and the way he had looked at her the day before at dinner, it must have been her imagination, but that look had made her nervous, she was sure the boy was planning something, she'll have to be alert around him.

Hermione finished her bath, still thinking about Draco, and feeling slightly aroused from it, she would have taken a little more time in the shower if it wasn't so late, she was Head Girl after all, she had to be an example and go to breakfast early, the winter break was only a week from now, and the students tended to relax and started to arrive a little late to classes. Singing under her breath, thinking about grey eyes, she opened the bath cabinet to get her brush and her eyes fell on the box of Tampax, She froze immediately, mentally counting the days since the last time she had got hold of the box. A feeling of dread slowly formed in her mind while the mental image of Draco got stronger. It had been more than a month since she had used the Tampax in more than a month.

"No... I should be mistaken"

She hurriedly went to her bedside table and got out a little notebook, that she used as a kind of journal, she searched her calendar, she always had got track of the health of her body, she found the last mark with a little trepidation and paled. It marked October 19th. She had lost a period. The sickness came back suddenly and she ran to the toilet again.

* * *

'_It can't be! Surely is only my mind working. I have read that stress and trauma can make a woman miss a period or two. It must be only psychological'_ She thought over it all the way to the Great Hall, barely hearing Harry and Ron making plans for Christmas, Harry was going to spend the holidays with the Weasleys, Molly Weasley had almost threatened Dumbledore to get the boy out of school for them, if there was going to be a war, then they mustn't waste any time they could have together. Ron had invited Hermione too, but she had preferred to go home with her parents, the red head had been a little disappointed at that, but he understood her choice. They got into the hall and the girl walked straight to her usual seat, and started eating half heartedly.

The boys sat down and the chatting continued, Ron was saying something about the Christmas tree when he interrupted himself and said.

"Well, would you believe that? I don't understand what is it with the girls that follow him. Who would want anything to do with that prat?"

Hermione turned her head to see Draco Malfoy entering the hall, with his arm firmly around Pansy's waist and three more girls surrounding him, one of them leaning in close to his ear whispering something. As Granger followed them with her eyes, Malfoy took Parkinson to her seat and pulled the chair out for her, he leaned down to say something in her ear and suddenly his eyes moved and looked into Hermione's directly. The Gryffindor girl could feel herself blushing, but seemed incapable of turning away. She looked on as he displayed a somewhat cruel smile. His tongue licked his lower lip, and then he winked at her. Hermione paled instantly and developed a sudden interest in her bacon and eggs, any trace of hungry leaving her.

The mail arrived, and an owl landed beside her arm, she took the message and gave the bird some bread. It was from her parents, they were going to a Dental congress on the winter break, and they asked if she would like to catch them in France, they could send the ticket to her. Harry and Ron were reading a letter from Mr. Weasley, telling them that Charlie would be at the train station to get them.

"It'll be great! All the family is going to be there! Well, except Percy" said Ron excitedly.

"What you got 'Mione?" asked Harry.

"Oh, a letter from my parents, maybe I'll spend the holidays in France."

Hermione asked herself if it would be better to accept Ron's invitation, she actually didn't want to go to France, but she didn't want to spend the holidays with all the Weasley family either, they were nice and she loved them, but she wasn't in the mood for that, she felt as if her depression was taking a hold of her, and she didn't want anyone to notice, besides, Ginny won't stop pestering her about how much Ron and all the family loved her, and that her brother only needed a little push in the right direction, a push Hermione was not willing to give him. She sighed in frustration, not knowing what to do, Ron suddenly approached her.

"'Mione, are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, don't worry Ron, I'm fine. I'm not much hungry that's all."

"You sure? You look a little pale. Maybe you should go to Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione bit her lower lip, she didn't want to go to the mediwitch anymore, and the fact that Ron lately had taken to be more attentive to her was disturbing, she didn't want him getting so close to her.

"Well, maybe later. I have to go now, I have Arithmancy and I want to be early, see you later boys!"

She left the Great Hall in a hurry, almost not hearing her friends goodbyes, and too aware of a pair of grey eyes following her.

* * *

Hermione got to the Arithmancy lesson too early, but the classroom was open, so she went in and took her usual seat. Not a second later the door opened again and Malfoy entered, the girl experienced a moment of panic before she remembered that he took Arithmancy too. The blond boy walked straight to his own seat, a few rows behind her, he left his school bag and then made a bee line towards her. Hermione sensed him approaching and felt oddly ashamed and slightly angered; he was supposed to be ignoring her! Not acting as though he suddenly had any kind of interest in her! Malfoy stopped just in front of her bench and turned to her smirking, Hermione looked at him, trying to look disgusted without much luck. Draco spoke first, his voice clear but lacking its usual vicious hate.

"Well, what do we have here? Our favourite mudblood was early for class!"

"What do you want Malfoy?" he looked at her more intently and Hermione felt like melting on the spot.

"I should be the one asking that question Granger, or even better" he positioned himself so as to be eye to eye with her, his arms reaching over to support himself on the bench "I'm wondering... why haven't you told anybody of our little "encounter" in the woods? I have been expecting those two muggle-lover pathetic friends of you to come fighting me, ready to avenge you. So far they had showed little interest in the matter."

"Back off Malfoy! Why do you care? I would have supposed you'd be happy to get away with... that... without troubles! Or are you so impatient to die?" Hermione was fighting to keep her heart ratting under control, her voice hadn't wavered, but if he continued looking her like that she would loose control soon. One of his arms moved to lean against her chair and she felt trapped, his voice was almost a whisper now.

"Maybe. Maybe I was willing to die that day, but you decided to get into the equation Granger, I had thought that you'd claim some kind of justice, revenge maybe, over what I did, perhaps you're too much of a coward to tell anyone of your assault... or maybe you're ashamed of having liked it..."

Hermione turned a deep shade of red. She glared at him thinking she wanted no more than to punch that pretty, self-righteous face. She hissed.

"You sick bastard! How could you think...? It was disgusting! And I hate you!"

That did nothing but widen Draco's feral smile, as he leaned even more over her she could feel his breath now.

"Is that so? Then why don't you tell Dumbledore what I did? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to send me to Azkaban. Eh Granger? Why?"

Hermione froze and gulped loudly, feeling herself becoming aroused. Draco was truly enjoying himself. She licked her lips absentmindedly in nervousness, the boy could see a hint of excitement in her eyes, he was so close to her their noses were almost touching, he was about to move forward and kiss her when the door was opened and Draco barely registered his surname being shouted before a body collided against him, and he hit the floor painfully.

Hermione was so shocked that she almost didn't recognize Harry leaning in front of her instead of Malfoy, grabbing her upper arms, asking worriedly if she was alright. She looked at his panic stricken face and almost laughed hysterically. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the heap that was made up of Ron and Malfoy fighting furiously. That sight released her and her prefect instincts kicked in and her head cleared.

"Stop! Ron stop! This is a classroom!"

"Hermione, Malfoy was hurting you!" yelled Harry

"He did not hurt me! He was just being his usual nasty self! And I can handle him pretty well, you don't need to worry so much Harry. Ron, stop already! You're a prefect for God's sake! Oh!"

She grew impatient and got out her wand

"Accio Ron!"

The fight was dramatically interrupted as the red head flew away from his enemy to his friend's feet. Harry had his wand out too, pointing at Malfoy, ready to hex the boy at the least provocation. Draco collected himself and got up from the floor with some trouble, his upper lip bleeding and one eye closed, with the other he was glaring daggers at Ron.

"Weasley you stupid bastard!"

"You git! You deserve it! You were trying to hurt Hermione!"

"You're an idiot weasel! And I didn't hear your mudblood girlfriend calling for any kind of help! Maybe she finally realized how useless you are!"

"Bastard!" Ron was ready to launch himself at Draco again, but Hermione stopped him.

"Ron enough already! He's only getting to you! You both should be ashamed! You're supposed to be prefects! I should take points from both of you!"

Even Harry turned to look at her in disbelief, Draco shouted first.

"Me? Ashamed of what? He was the one attacking me!"

"Hermione! I was defending you!"

"Which I deeply appreciate Ron, but really, you should take control of your anger and not go throwing yourself head first at people. He's not worth a detention!"

Students were starting to arrive. Harry noticed their wary eyes looking over at them and decided to end the argument.

"Take it easy you two; come on Ron, nothing bad happened, Malfoy why don't you leave?"

"You are a moron Potter, I'm in my class!"

"Well, go away to your seat then! And don't you dare go near to near Hermione again!"

"And who'll stop me? You?"

The two friends looked ready to fight their enemy again; Hermione took both their arms and tried to placate them.

"Harry, please. It's not worth it. You two should be in your own classroom, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Besides saving you?" asked Ron still annoyed, the girl shot him an impatient glare, Harry sighed in defeat and answered.

"You forgot the book I borrowed last night, we came to give it to you, in case you needed it."

"Oh, thanks."

They finally went away, just before professor Vector arrived. Hermione felt ill and distracted all throughout the lesson. Draco had refused to go to the hospital wing and she could feel his eyes boring into her.She was worried over what the boy would say to her when class wasover, but when they went out of the classroom, Harry and Ron were already there waiting for her, so she let herself be escorted to their next class.

* * *

In the afternoon, Hermione spent about an hour going back and forth in her room, thinking about the possibility of heading to the hospital wing while her friends were at Quidditch practice. She didn't want to go, she still had some trouble acknowledging what had been done to her. Somehow going to the mediwitch would make it all the more real. Besides, she didn't have anything, really, she was trying to convince herself that her lack of a period was due to emotional trauma; it'll come back eventually, when she had relaxed herself, it wasn't necessary to see Madam Pomfrey.

'_I'll wait'_ she thought at last _'until the end of the holidays. If I'm not having it by then I'll go. Yes, it's better to do that. I'll wait'_ Hermione made her decition and then took a parchment to write to her parents, telling them she'll spend the holiday in the school, that would give her solitude and time to relax.

Malfoy was sitting in one of the armchairs of his room, looking intently to a letter in his hands, any trace of the fight with Ronald Weasley had left his face. Madam Pomfrey was getting even better with the years. He reread the parchment for the fourth time, his father was furious for not having an answer to his previous letters, and this one was even more harsh, there will be another initiation on Christmas, some of the Death Eaters would introduce their children to the Dark Lord.

'You better be among them Draco' The order was written plainly, no insinuations, not the sightless effort of disguising it. Lucius should be beyond anger to be this careless.

'_So'_ the boy thought to himself _'some of them won't be back this time'_

It was another chance; he could go and end it all already. He still had no desire to serve the Dark Lord, after much debating he decided that he didn't want his world to change, he liked it as it was. The Malfoys had power, the wizarding world feared and respected them, they always had what they wanted. Why should they care about pitiful muggles anyway? Let them live their worthless lives far away from the wizard's affairs; they shouldn't be giving them a second thought.

It was odd, in some sick way, that his father had raised him to be a leader, taught him not to let anyone be above him, Malfoys followed their own rules; they serve or obey no one. And now his father wanted him to humiliate himself in front of a mad man? The Dark Lord was the most powerful wizard ever, that was true, but still, why should he live the rest of his life as a slave, having been raised to be a lord? He won't do it, he won't live to serve anyone, he won't live to see his world broken to pieces, and his family as the favourite pets of a dark wizard! No body could stop that from happening, he was pretty sure of that, anyone who thought there was any kind of hope was a fool. This would be another chance to leave this world before it was destroyed, there would be no silly girls following him into the woods, no one would stop him.

But he was dubious about it, he had not changed his mind about killing himself, but now the situation was different. He wanted to feel alive one last time, he wanted to feel the fire of a woman around him, he wanted to make her his. Granger somehow had managed to get his attention, maybe she was regretting it already but it was done. He wanted her, to have a taste of her before leaving. There would be other chances, he could simply get lost in the forbidden forest and be done with it, but before that he was going to have her. With a flick of his wand he set fire to the letter.

* * *

Hermione was out of the Great Hall, waiting for Ernie McMillan, the Hufflepuff prefect, it was their turn to make the night round and she wanted to do it fast, so she could go to sleep, she felt tired and slightly aghast. Holidays were here; tomorrow the majority of the students would leave to spend Christmas with their families. She hadn't told anyone about her decision to stay at Hogwarts, she didn't want Ron talking her into going with them; she wanted to be alone.

But she was worrying over something else, Malfoy hadn't talked to her since their little exchange in Arithmancy, and her obsession seemed to be growing, she dreamed of him every night and her fearing of being pregnant were worse everyday, she had found herself starting to wonder if she should tell him once it was a sure thing, then berating herself for even consider the possibility.

Tonight she was thinking of Draco even more.The golden trio had had a meeting with Dumbledore, who sadly informed them that there would be another initiation over the holidays, some of the students probably won't come back to Hogwarts to finish the term. Harry and Ron were sure that this time Malfoy would stay at home with his gang of junior death eaters, Ron was almost cheering over finally getting ride of the blond git, but Hermione hadn't said a thing, she felt scared, she didn't want him to end like that, the girl was sure that if Malfoy left the school he was not coming back, not for being a Death Eater, but for being dead, he had told her that much. The gryffindor didn't want that to happen, but she could do nothing to stop it. Maybe if he knew about her fears of being pregnant. That was a ridiculous thought; she should be able to think of better ways to keep him at Hogwarts!

Anger took hold of her. What did she care anyway? She was so stupid as to care for the bastard's luck? Fuck him! Let him go and die if that was what he wanted! It wasn't her business! She shouldn't care! But the thing was she did care.

Hermione was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize someone was approaching her until she had the boy almost in her face, she blushed and almost shout at the sight of Malfoy, the blond smirked, amused by her shock, she managed to glare and asked.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here? You should be in your house common room by now!"

"Actually Granger, McMillan told me he was feeling a little sick, so I'm here to do the rounds in his place. You have any problems with it?"

Hermione looked at the boy in disbelief, she was about to tell him exactly how many problems she had with his presence, when professor Flitwick interrupted them.

"Good night youngsters! I suppose you two are going to do the rounds?"

"Yes professor" answered Malfoy nonchalantly.

"Good, go ahead and behave you now."

"Of course."

Draco knew that the recommendation of behaving was only given to him, but he didn't care, Granger nodded her good nights to the professor, and they both started walking in silence tainted with nervousness on Hermione's part.

They did the round without comments, Granger was relieved for it, she wouldn't know what to say to him, but at the same time she was going nuts wondering whether or not he would leave for the break. She was thinking of the best way to find out without seeming very interested, when Draco saved her the trouble and broke the silence.

"I'm staying for Christmas" he said, they were walking back down the corridor that lead to the Astronomy tower then, ready to finish their round.

"Really?" she suddenly felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, while she tried to sound disinterested. "What for? Don't want to spend holidays with your mother?"

"There are more interesting ways of spending winter break. Don't you think so Granger?"

They have stopped walking and Hermione felt his eyes on her.

"Besides, I want to be sure that no stupid girl will try to stand in my way this time."

That angered her, she turned to glare indignantly at him.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I'm sure that you'd find your way free of stupid girls!"

She intended to storm away to Gryffindor tower, but a hand stopped her grabbing her arm, Hermione suddenly found herself being pulled and pushed against the wall, Malfoy's face only an inch above her own.

"Why do I doubt that?"

"Let go of me Malfoy!" she hissed furiously, not wanting to wake the portraits or attract Filch.

"You want to go? I don't think so Granger."

He pressed his upper body against hers, effectively trapping her, his left hand grabbed the hair at her temple, firmly without being painful unless she tried to fight it, his eyes looked down into hers.

"I think we should set this straight now!"

"Leave me alone Malfoy! We don't have anything to set!"

"No? Maybe I'll go talk with the weasel then, surely he would be interested about how his girlfriend lost her virginity, I could give him a few details."

"You bastard!" Hermione almost yelled, she felt like crying and was having a hard time keeping her voice at hiss level "Don't you ever feel any remorse at anything?"

"Remorse? Why should I feel it? You asked for it Granger!" he leaned over her, breathing in her lips "And you liked it!"

"You sick pervert! That's not...! Mmmm!"

Draco's lips were over hers, the force of the kiss demanding entrance to her mouth, Hermione was shocked into compliance by the surprise, her hands lifted themselves to his chest and a moan escaped her, the boy broke the kiss smirking.

"I was wondering what your lips tasted like. You did like it; don't deny it Granger, that's why you haven't told anyone."

"That's... not true" she gasped trying to get hold of her ratting heart. "... you have no right…"

"Don't fool yourself, you wanted it, maybe not as it was given but that doesn't change the fact that you wanted it."

"Stop it! Let me go now or I'll scream, I swear!"

"Go ahead then Granger, do it! Give me a scream!"

She would have never done it and he knew that, she was unable to break eye contact with him, the boy leaned in again and this time she gave into the kiss completely.

'_This is not happening, this couldn't be happening, he hates me and I hate him back! He hates me and I...! I so fucking need him!'_ Her mind was in turmoil by now, Malfoy moved his right hand to cup her buttocks through the clothes, his mouth starting to trail a way to her neck.

There was a loud sound at the end of the corridor that startled them both. Draco turned and took out his wand, releasing her hair; he had a hex in his mouth before he registered the ghostly figure bumping up and down with what seemed half a set of armour on its head.

"Peeves! Stupid poltergeist!"

The girl came out of her daze during the interruption and pushed Malfoy away from her, running hastily towards the Gryffindor tower. The boy smiled at her retreating form, no need to hurry, next time he'll be sure there would be no interruptions.

Hermione went directly inside her private bedroom. She was still blushing and very aroused. Malfoy had really kissed her! It had to be a trick, there was no way Malfoy would really want her! It was a bizarre thought, but she found herself liking the idea. She had to be mad, that was it, she was finally totally nuts! But that night her dreams were even more pleasure filled than before.

The next morning her period was back, she didn't know if she should feel relieved or disappointed.


	5. Just for tonight

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**

* * *

Chapter 05 Just for tonight**

Hermione went to the train station to say goodbye to her friends, they weren't pleased to know that she was going to stay at Hogwarts, Ginny complained loudly about it, and insisted that they could still inform their Head of house, so that Hermione could leave with them, fortunately for the brown haired girl it was too late for that, and Ginny had to swallow her misery. Ron was also annoyed at Hermione's decision, and Harry was feeling worried and a little guilty for leaving her alone; she told them not to worry, it had been a last minute cancellation because her parents had suddenly been invited to attend a conference in Asia, and she really didn't want to go that far. It was an obvious lie, but none of them noticed it.

They got into the train and Ron gave her a peck on the cheek before she could stop it. The boy looked like he wanted to tell her something and Hermione was sure she didn't want to hear it; the girl said her goodbyes as quickly as possible and then returned to the school with Hagrid.

* * *

In the train, Ginny was mulling in disappointment, both at Hermione staying behind and at Ron not being able to show his feelings to her.

"You really are a lost cause Ron; you have had many chances to get close to her!"

"I know, I know! It's just that I think she already knows what I feel for her; we have been feeling this way for years!"

"Yes Ron" said Harry "but I think she'll appreciate it if you'd take it a step further. You know how she is, she takes things seriously."

"I do too! I take this very seriously man, I want to marry her! It's just I get nervous every time I'm about to talk to her."

Harry scowled in apprehension upon hearing that.

"Isn't it a little early to be speaking about marriage?"

"What do you mean early?" asked Ron in confusion "Once you propose to a girl, if you're already of age, you marry her within the year."

Harry's eyes widened at the idea.

"Is that so?"

"Yes Harry," said Ginny "it's a tradition."

Harry kept thinking that some wizard's 'traditions' needed an actualization.

"You have to tell Hermione that before you propose anything to her, in the muggle world things usually are a bit more slow and I don't think she'll want to get married at such a young age."

"Why not? She's gonna marry me."

Harry rolled his eyes at this.

"Yes Ron, she likes you, and you two had been playing this little game of friends-boyfriends for a while now, but in the muggle world seventeen is too young an age to marry someone, and Hermione will maybe want to wait a couple of years."

"Are you kidding man? Years? That's too much Harry! She's a witch now; we both want to be a couple, the earlier we do it the more years we spend together."

"Yes Harry" said Ginny "I don't think Hermione would see any problem with that."

"Well, I'm not so sure."

"Don't be silly mate, it's gonna be fine! You'll see, the only troubles we could have would be for You-know-who to strike with force. The war is not gonna be easy."

"Don't talk about that Ron!" cried Ginny "Not for the duration of the winter break, we will forget about it, that was the deal! Ok?"

"Sure Ginny, relax."

Harry sighed at his friends, he had wondered before if it was a good idea to ignore Voldemort like that. He was sure the dark wizard was planning his next move carefully; he had been very quiet the last year, so far there had only been another break from Azkaban, and a few minor attacks to the ministry and the Order, even the dreams had stopped. Voldemort was testing their strength and preparing for the war, Harry was sure that the oncoming next year will bring them a lot of troubles and pain.

He tried to relax and not think too much about that, but then his mind wandered immediately to his other subject of recent concern: Hermione.

Ron was deeply convinced that their friend saw him as more as a friend, that she loved him. Harry had been sure of that too, until a few weeks ago. Actually it was something that had been nagging at his mind since last year, at the moment they have been too preoccupied with the perspective of Voldemort attacking, that they barely paid the real world any heed. But it had started that year, Harry realized that now, Hermione had been distancing herself, little by little, she had imbibed in her books, researching combat manoeuvres and some of Dark magic, she even had taken extra classes of DADA with none other than professor Snape. They had thought that Hermione was just over worried about the dangers of a war that she was looking for the best way to be ready, but she had started to spend less time with them.

Even Ginny had said that Hermione had matured, that girls did so much faster and earlier than boys, but now Harry wasn't so sure of it, his friend had changed in some way, and he couldn't pinpoint it but Hermione was not the same anymore. Ron had been oblivious to that change, he still hadn't noticed that their friend didn't respond to him like she used to anymore, but Harry had noticed it and he was no longer sure that Hermione had feelings for Ron in a more-than-friends way.

He decided to go talk with Hermione the minute they came back to Hogwarts, maybe she was experiencing some sort of depression or had other troubles. She could be in need of support. Yes, he would talk to her, and if she no longer feels attracted to Ron, they would be better off finding the best way to make him realize it before it was too late, because he had also noticed that the Weasleys had a tendency to be obsessive.

* * *

Hermione spent the first days of winter break hiding in her bedroom, she didn't want to take the chance of meeting Malfoy, the girl had worked herself to anger against him and was currently comfortable imagining herself beating the boy to crap. That however, didn't help to suppress the feeling of need that insisted to awake each night when she lied in her bed, fantasizing his well done and slightly muscular body over hers, taking her hard once and again. Hermione so badly wanted to go and find him, but she was sure this was wrong, this unbearable need was twisted and wrong, and it was no denying it.

It was all Malfoy's fault! And it was making her miserable, maybe she should just go and let him ravage her once more and be done with it! Perhaps that way her obsession would go away and she could be normal again! The problem was that Hermione wasn't so sure if she really wanted her obsession gone, it was causing her stress, a good deal of angst and guilt, that was for sure, but it had given her very pleasant dreams, which she enjoyed far too much for her own good.

The Gryffindor girl craved Malfoy's touch but at the same time was afraid of it, afraid of being hurt again, afraid that the sudden interest of the boy in her was only a trap, after all, he may still be supporting Voldemort, no matter his apparent decision to die, that could be a trap too. None of it made any sense to her, it was hopeless, she had to stop this rollercoaster somehow, and she better hurry because she could tell that Harry was getting suspicious.

The Christmas feast was held in the Great Hall as always, with all the remaining students seated at the same table. There were about ten Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, five Hufflepufs and three Gryffindors. Professors Dumbledore and Snape were strangely absent, but no one seemed to care much about it. Hermione was a nervous wreck, more so because Malfoy decided to sit directly in front of her and soon she found herself stealing glances his way. His skin was unmarred, his lips were somewhat thin, but he certainly knew how to use them... Damn! How would she ever survive the dinner with Malfoy in front of her?

To make things worse, the boy seemed to sense her stares and looked directly to her with his acute grey eyes, his predatory smile graced his features and he licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, Hermione felt her insides burning, she was sure that her face was doing a nice resemblance of a traffic red signal right now, fortunately for her no one in the Hall was looking her way, she tried to calm down and fixed her stare in her food, trying to eat as fast as she could, when she was finished she left the Great Hall without looking back.

Hermione walked the deserted corridors half expecting that Malfoy had come after her, but she reached Gryffindor tower without interruptions, she sighed somewhat disappointed and went straight to bed.

* * *

Next morning, Hermione woke up to find Crookshanks over a pile of presents, trying to tear a ribbon to shreds, she got up and looked amused at the cat.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a couple of months! If Hagrid hadn't told me you got yourself a pretty kitty and was too busy with her, I would have go nuts!"

The cat looked at her and purred, she moved him to the bed and proceeded to sort the presents out. Molly Weasley had sent a Weasley jumper with a card wishing her a happy Christmas and telling that she could trust in the family for whatever she needed, Hermione sighed and put the card aside, her parents had sent a bottle of an exotic fragrance, and all her friends had sent books, except the Weasley twins, their gift were a parcel of sweets and a note telling her to be easy on Ron, that didn't make sense until she discovered the letter that came along with the book Ron had sent. Hermione started to read it with a feeling of dread that slowly mutated to annoyance, what it said didn't make her happy in the least.

"_Merry Christmas 'Mione,_

_I wish you have come with us to the burrow, but I suppose the change of plans took you by surprise, so I think it's ok. _

_I have been thinking about you a lot these days, I know that I'm not very good at showing my feelings, but you know how I feel about you, you are more than a friend to me Hermione, I love you, and I want you to be my girlfriend. I promise to tell you directly when we return to Hogwarts, then we can stop teasing each other as Ginny says, she and Harry can't wait to see us together and be happy, so we stop giving them headaches (they told me that this very minute) _

_I'll see you soon, take care._

_Love you._

_Ron."_

"Shit!"

Hermione really wanted to swear out loud. So, after years of 'teasing' the declaration had finally come, just when she no longer wanted it. And he was assuming she'll say yes! As if he was the only boy in all the school she could like!

"Damn! What in hell I'm going to do?"

Of course she'll say No, there was no way now she'll accept, she didn't want a boyfriend, she didn't want anything to do with boys! The problem was how to tell off Ron without losing his friendship, she didn't want to lose Harry and Ron they were like brothers to her, sure, she had fancied Ron sometime but that had been a child's infatuation, it had died almost a year ago, now he was only a friend. Life was getting far too complicated for her.

She decided to think about it later and started to clean the floor, now full of empty boxes and Christmas paper, when she noticed a small present, she took it and made a frown, the box was the size of her hand, green, with a tiny silver bow, Hermione gulped figuring out who could have sent it, maybe she shouldn't open it.

"What the hell? What can I loss anyway?"

She opened the small box; inside there was a platinum ring, with a strange symbol carved in it, and a note.

"_Want your Christmas present Granger? Come for it. 10:00pm"_

It had directions to arrive at a room within the maze of the dungeons. The ring was apparently supposed to grant her entrance, it must be a key of some sort. Hermione felt anger boiling within her; she crumpled the paper in her hand and threw the box to a far corner of the room.

"That stupid, self-centred git! Son of a bitch! How could he think I...!"

She blew into her pillows and Crookshanks jumped off the bed as fast as he could. She was blushing furiously.

"He really thinks I'll go! Right? Well he's gonna be waiting a long time! Because I'M NOT GOING!"

* * *

'_I'm not going to that place! I'm not going to give him the satisfaction! I'm not going!'_

Hermione was doing the night round alone, professor McGonagall had insisted it wasn't necessary, it was winter break after all, but she had been adamant in doing it all the days she was supposed to, and her head of house had given her permission. It was nearly ten o'clock and the gryffindor head girl was walking almost breathless along the corridors, the Marauder's map in her hand and the platinum ring in one of her robe's pockets, for all her angry words and rage at Malfoy she still was heading to the dungeons.

The girl stopped in front of the last set of stairs that were sure to lead her into Slytherin territory, she took a loud breath and frowned in annoyance.

'_I'm not going, I'll turn back right now and I'll go to Gryffindor tower and to my room, I'll tuck myself in bed and sleep, and Malfoy would leave me alone... Well what are you waiting for? Turn around now!'_

Unfortunately, her body seemed to have a mind of it's own and completely ignored the brain's orders, she went down the stairs and took out the map to better locate the room where she was supposed to meet Malfoy, she felt a little guilty for having sneak around Harry's things to retrieve the map, almost as if she had robbed it, but she would return it before Harry noticed, that wouldn't be a problem.

'_I'll be dead if I don't go back right now' _The dungeons were scarcely lit and cold, she could hear her footsteps reverberating along the deserted halls, it was getting hard to breath without doing noise. Eventually she stopped in front of a big statue of a beautiful woman that had snakes instead of hair and her eyes closed. _'Medusa. I wonder if this would turn me into a stone'_ Hermione took the ring out and wondered once more what in hell she was doing, she stood in front of the statue, looking at the pedestal in the spot where she was supposed to apply the ring for what seemed an eternity, finally she sighed in defeat and pressed the symbol of the ring in the right place, the statue's eyes opened and a green light surged from them, it fell on the opposite wall, illuminating a big circle of bricks, which disappeared under the strange light leaving an open space. The girl took a deep breath and entered.

* * *

The wall returned to normal as soon as Hermione was inside the secret room, it was not too big, as far as she could perceive, it was dark, the only light were two torches in the far wall, above what Hermione first thought to be a bed, but on close examination she discovered it was an assortment of big pillows and blankets, she also noted that the floor was covered by a rich rug, it was an odd room to be in a dungeon, she knew thanks to her last view in the map, that Malfoy was here, but she couldn't see him.

'_This is crazy. Why am I in here?'_

She took a few steps forward, feeling like she was going to explode from nerves, the urge to turn around and run was starting to occupy a primal place in her mind, the girl was about to do just that when strong arms surrounded her from behind, and a hot breath was in her ear.

"You really take your time eh Granger? Too nervous to find your way?"

"Don't touch me! Let me go!"

Hermione got herself out of his embrace and turned to face him, wand out and pointing in his direction, she couldn't see pretty well in the scarce light, but she stared at the blond boy, he had only his shirt and pants on, and his body seemed lean but strong in the dim light, his hair wasn't slacked to his head and he was watching her intently, his lips turned up into a mischievous smile, his wand was nowhere in sight and he started to get closer to her, not minding her wand pointing at him.

"Why so defensive Granger? There's no one in here, just you and me."

"Don't come any closer Malfoy! I'm not here for what you think!"

"No?" he lifted an eyebrow in sarcastic doubt at her words, but didn't stop his approach "then why are you here Granger?"

'_Because I'm a bloody Idiot! That's why!'_

"I… I only came to tell you to stop doing this! I want you away from me!"

"If that is so, then why didn't you just stay in your room? The message would have been plainly understood, believe me."

He had reached her, and Hermione froze to the spot, unable to move a single step back to get away from him, Malfoy took her wand and she released her hold on it, then the boy grabbed her by the arms and started guiding her to the make self bed in the far wall, she felt a bit of panic, but her body didn't make a move to fight him, her eyes were at his lips level and she suddenly wanted them over hers, reason made a last try to make itself heard.

"No… Please, I don't want to do this!"

"Then why did you come here Granger? Just answer me."

"I… I don't… I didn't want to! I… just… I shouldn't be here!"

One of his hands took hold of her hair and made her lift her head to face him, those sensual lips were immediately over hers, kissing her fiercely, she moaned in surprise and desperation and his tongue darted into her mouth, she felt a strange longing for it, for him, for his so craved touch, her need to be with him was slowly pushing aside her confusion. Malfoy ended the kiss too soon for her.

"Stop fighting yourself Granger, just let it go…"

"… Oh God!" she tried to collect her shattered thoughts and something inside her mind exploded "No! I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't be feeling this! I should hate you!"

"Feel what Granger?"

"This!" She let her frustration go and punched Malfoy in his broad and well made chest; he didn't release her "This attraction! This need! This obsession that is eating me alive! I don't want it! It was the cause I went following you that hideous night! I want it gone! It's making me crazy!"

She was crying now, feeling oddly released, that was it, she had voiced what was tormenting her, and in the process had acknowledged it, she felt his arms tightening around her and his hand petting her head.

Malfoy was highly amused by her display, this girl really was a nut case, surely she was so used to have control over her feelings that now she didn't know what to do with them. Well, at least she finally admitted that she did want him, it was only a problem of… principles perhaps, appearances maybe, and guilt surely, she was feeling guilty for her desire of him even when he had already abused her, it could be fixed, she had fear of her own emotions, Draco would be more than glad to help her overcome it, he was a Slytherin after all.

"Merlin Granger, you think about things far too much for your own good! Come now!" he lifted her head once more and he leaned into her face, kissing away the tears and brushing her mouth, the rosy lips parted in wanton. "No need to make such a big deal over it, you certainly didn't chose the best night to come following me, but we can fix it, we can make it better now."

"F- fix it? But..."

"Don't you want to? I know you can't forget that night easily, but how about replace it? Replace those feelings with new ones; we can make a much better memory, a far more enjoyable one."

A new memory? Yes, she very much wanted it, she wanted to forget, to pretend that first night never happened, Malfoy eased her to the cushions and she felt her back against the soft blankets, his body over hers, his hands trying to get rid of her robes.

"B- but, we shouldn't, it's not right…"

"Right? To whom exactly? Who cares of right or wrong Granger? This is just a release for us both, a little pleasure we're taking. You want it, I'm very much willing to make it enjoyable for you, so what's the problem? Let the world run along by itself for a while, just for tonight."

The robes were gone and Malfoy was kissing her face and fumbling with the buttons of her blouse, she lifted her hands and started to do the same with his.

"But, what if someone finds out?"

"No one is going to, you won't say, I won't say either, it would be our secret Granger. This is going to be our night and no one needs to know about it."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Malfoy breathed into her neck, his hands trying to get rid of her bra, her hands were now touching his bare, hairless chest "Now Granger, stop thinking and enjoy it."

And she did it, for once in her life she stopped reasoning things out, she let her need and wanton flow and when Malfoy kissed her again she kissed back with renown passion, tasting him, tasting his tongue, his mouth, feeling the strong seeker's muscles of his torso with her hands, feeling the tension of months draining out of her. They parted he kiss and she breathed deeply in his essence, while he got both of them rid of clothes.

'_Please, please let me have him, just for tonight, let him be mine tonight, because I'm already his'_

Once they were naked Draco continued his exploration of her, as if it were the first time he did it, his hands caressed every crevice of her upper body, he kissed her once more, sensing her need for him, his hand entangled in curly brown hair, the force of her answer almost took him by surprise, he had planned to go slowly, to be gentle to her; but he guessed immediately that gentleness was not what she wanted, she wanted passion, she wanted him to possess her, her hands and mouth already urging him to it, he tug at her hair, moving her head to the side, exposing the well done neck. Her skin was soft and lovely, her smell was intoxicating, he wanted to eat her alive, to enjoy every part of her well done body this time, he licked a path from her ear to her blade shoulder and then sucked at the juncture of her neck.

Hermione moaned loudly, one of her hands making a grip in his hair, pressing his head to her neck, the other wandering over his side and back, he felt her legs opening wide for him; he applied his teeth to the tender skin and sucked and bitted just enough to leave a mark, his hands exploring her body freely and she tightened her own grip on him silently pleading for more.

Draco continued his exploration; paying attention to her breasts and the over sensitive nipples, Hermione won't let go of his hair, but that was fine with him, she almost cried, lifting her torso to meet him.

"Oh God! Draco!"

Her hips started to move, Malfoy put his hands on them and pinned her body to the blankets, he leaned into her mouth once more, their tongues battling each other until hers barely submitted, the boy moved his hips then and the girl moaned her need into his mouth making him groan in pleasure, he broke the kiss to breathe and looked directly into her passion filled eyes.

"Stopped thinking Granger?" he asked breathlessly with a playful smile, the girl returned it broadly and she rubbed herself on him, Draco groaned once more, closing his eyes in bliss.

"Merlin Granger! How bad you want it?" he said, moving his hand to grab her hair and leaning again to suck the now red spot in her neck.

"Aah! Badly! Please!" Malfoy's hand was stroking her and Hermione moaned once again.

"Oh please! … Malfoy! … Need you!"

Malfoy were just too ready to comply, aching to be inside her. They took their time at it and then both of them found their rhythm, finally reaching orgasm and crying their respective releases.

Malfoy made an extra effort for not came collapsing over Granger, once he collected himself he moved out of her and, still panting, he eased himself at her side, she leaned into him, not quite ready to let go of his warm and he tucked her in his arms, kissing her forehead and caressing her, his hand mechanically searched for a blanket and covered them both, exhausted and spent, in short notice she was soundly asleep.

He watched her a little more, so much passion in this body, so many things they could still do, a pity she wasn't a pureblood, not that it really mattered anymore, he had not much time left anyway, but it could have been nice to have her, to truly have her for a while more.

"Well, why not? Life's too short to waste it…"

And he surrendered to sleep too, the world around them blissfully forgotten.


	6. End of break

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**

* * *

Chapter 06 End of break**

Hermione watched as the Gryffindor common room slowly filled itself, soon her friends would be storming through the portrait and her holidays would be officially over. It was the first time in her life that she felt disappointed that classes would start again, she had been having such a nice time with Malfoy, the 'just for one night' had mutated to 'just for the winter break' and they had been busy many nights, not all of them in the dungeon secret room, she now knew Draco's private room inside Slytherin like her own.

But it had been far too good to last, well, time to continue with life.

Her obsession still lived, but it had lost its original intensity. The object of her desire had been hers in reality, she was content now, but she was starting to wish they could have more.

Now that her secret fantasies had been fulfilled, she was curious to see if the attraction she once felt for Ron would be back, but when she saw them appear she realized that her feelings for Ron would never again be more than brotherly. She sighed, already thinking a suitable way of avoiding the talk with Ron when suddenly they all came running towards her and she found herself being crushed within several embraces

"Hermione! We missed you! Are you all right?"

"You weren't too worried were you? It was awful!"

"How things were around here? Did Dumbledore say anything about it? I suppose the order is going to have a lot of work to do. Did he ask for help?"

"W – what?" Hermione was really shocked now, she didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

"It was absolute madness yesterday" Ginny continued "Mom was crying and worried until Percy flooed her. Dad hadn't been able to locate him since the attack happened, and we were all worried!"

'_Attack?'_ Hermione turned her head around and started to realize that every one in the room was talking excitedly and fearfully. She looked to her friends' worried faces, her brain trying to make sense of the news.

"A-attack? When?"

The three of them looked at her open mouthed.

"You mean… you didn't know?" asked Harry.

"Merlin Hermione! Did you spend the entire break in the library?"

"Shut up Ron!" said Ginny earnestly "Oh Hermione! You didn't read the Daily Prophet yesterday?"

"Well, no, actually I haven't read it the entire break."

"And you didn't hear the others talking about it?"

"It has been pretty quiet around here" and besides, she really hadn't been paying attention, she had been in a state of isolation for most of the holidays. She had registered the fact that there was a little more activity and the day before, but she had assumed it was due to the start of classes. And Malfoy hadn't said a word either.

"Well, you see Hermione? That's why it's not good to bury yourself in books all the time! You lose track of reality!"

"Stop berating me Ron! And tell me what happened!"

They went into a corner, far away from the rest of Gryffindors and updated her. It turned out that two days ago the Ministry of Magic had been attacked, it had been a night attack, the few people that were still in the building had been already leaving when the Death eaters apparated. They brought the entire building down, it had been fast, when the rest of the Aurors arrived, there had been nothing they could do.

There weren't many dead but the Minister of Magic had been one of them and the Weasleys hadn't known of it until next day. Hermione didn't know what to feel when they finished, she was glad that all of the Weasley family were unharmed, but somehow it seemed so distant, so unreal. Harry was pretty angry, Hermione realized he was saying something and tried to focus in reality.

" … should have been prepared! I mean, Snape told the Order that an initiation was being done over Christmas! And with the one on Halloween Voldemort was bound to do something like this! To test his new recruits!"

"You think… You – Know – Who will continue the attacks?" said Ginny fearfully.

"Well, I think it's very likely" Hermione found herself answering "It was a direct attack on the Ministry of Magic, he's practically declaring war to the wizarding world" an idea suddenly hit her and she looked at them all fearfully "Oh God! He could have attacked the train! What if he had decided to do it?"

Ron and Ginny paled, Harry hugged Hermione, trying to ease her.

"Don't worry 'Mione, it didn't happen. We're safe here, now."

Ron took a seat with them and hugged her too.

"Yes Hermione, don't worry."

"At least we don't have any Death Eaters here any more" said Ginny

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, suddenly thinking about Malfoy.

"Well, Harry was still angry in the train when we were coming back, and he searched all of it, looking for Malfoy."

"What for Harry?"

"I wanted to hex him into oblivion Hermione! This surely was the first mission of the new Death Eaters; surely it was his first kill! I wanted to throw him out of the train! To turn him out to the authorities as the Death Eater he is!"

"But Harry…"

"Anyway," Ron interrupted "he wasn't in the train, in fact, a good deal of the slytherins weren't there. I suppose that Dumbledore was right, the new Death Eaters won't be coming back to Hogwarts. Good riddance if you ask me!"

"But…"

"I hope he gets himself killed!" said Harry "At least we won't be seeing him around here anymore!"

"Would you two listen!" Hermione almost yelled in exasperation "Malfoy wasn't on the train because he's here!"

Her three friends turned to look at her nearly shocked.

"What?" was all Ginny could say.

"Hermione, what are you saying? He's here!" asked Harry

"Yes, he didn't go home for winter break, he had been here the whole time. Didn't you notice he wasn't in the train when you left?"

"Well… actually I didn't even care to see…"

Ron got suddenly red.

"Hermione! You spent the entire break here with him! Merlin! You were in serious danger all this time! Why didn't you tell us or Dumbledore!"

"Tell him what Ron? He knew Malfoy was here! I think he was even glad."

And come to think about it, Hermione did see the Headmaster a couple of times at lunch, he had seemed tired and worn, but the twinkle in his eyes somewhat renewed every time he looked at Slytherin table. The girl had dismissed it before, but now she believed that Dumbledore was glad that at least one of the boys that everybody had considered lost could save himself. If he only knew what Draco had been really planning.

"You know" Ron continued talking "sometimes I really doubt of Dumbledore's state of mind."

"Oh, Ron!"

"Really, how could he accept a Death Eater into Hogwarts!"

"Maybe because he's not one" said Hermione angrily.

"Hermione! Don't start again!" Ron complained "Look, I know Dumbledore must have his reasons, but Malfoy is too dangerous! We all are at risk while he's here!"

"I really don't think that's the case Ron! I think Dumbledore knows what he's doing!"

"No Hermione" Harry intervened "I think Ron's right, Malfoy is dangerous, even if he didn't take the Dark Mark, which I really doubt, it could all be a set up."

"Yes!" said Ron "He's surely here for a reason! You-Know-Who had probably left him here in a mission, so he could get into Hogwarts or get Harry killed!"

"Oh Harry!" said Ginny fearfully "you must be very careful!"

"We'll have to watch him closely Harry!" Ron was getting even more excited "If we discover what his plan is, we can turn him in to Dumbledore, and get him out of the play!"

"Yes, we're going to follow his every move. He's too vain to wait much longer, he'll give away something sooner of later."

Hermione was feeling anger rising inside her with every word. How could they not see that Draco was not as his father? That he was different now? She felt as if she should say something in his behalf

"Why? Why should he be planning something for You-Know- Who?"

"Hermione?"

"I mean, why is the reason for him to be here to aid the Death Eaters? Haven't you thought that, maybe, he's here because he doesn't want to follow You-Know-Who? If he had taken the Dark Mark, professor Snape would have told the order."

Ron looked at her in disbelief, Ginny looked around feeling uncomfortable and Harry finally sighed and tried to reason with her.

"Look Hermione, I know you wish things could be changed, but you know as well as I that Malfoy doesn't want to be any different from his father. He shares all the stupid beliefs of blood superiority and all that crap of muggles being worthless creatures that don't deserve to live. As fas as I'm concerned the only reason for him to be here is because he's ordered to. And about Snape. I really don't trust him 'Mione."

"You have never trusted him Harry, but he's our spy"

"He could be a spy for Voldemort! He's been a Death Eater before, how can we know he's not gonna betray us! Dumbledore is taking too many risks, and I'm not gonna let him put in danger the people I care for!"

Hermione fell silent, she couldn't really tell them what she knew, much less why she had that knowledge, they would probably just make it worse, so she opted for putting them at ease, telling that maybe they were right, and after hearing Ron congratulating her for having come to her senses she zoned out from the rest of their conversation, that primarily consisted in what the Order would do now, all the time thinking that if she hadn't stopped Malfoy on Halloween he would be now a dead man, or a killer, which was practically the same to her.

* * *

Draco Malfoy entered the Great Hall surrounded by a few of the Slytherins. Many eyes followed him to his table and he could hear his surname being hissed many times, he smirked and took his usual seat, not caring in the least about the murderous looks some of his fellow students were throwing him. Dumbledore gave a short speech before dinner appeared, Draco didn't pay much attention to him, he was assuring everybody that Hogwarts would not be touched by the Dark Lord. Yeah, right, the son of a bitch believed that the dark wizard would ignore the school's existence? The old bat was talking as if anything they did would matter and the fools were listening to him! Well, let them have their little illusion of normality while they were at Hogwarts. He knew very well that the attack to the Ministry of Magic had been the beginning of the end, from now on, there would be only waiting.

He was only half aware of people watching intently at Slytherin table when Dumbledore finished talking and food finally appeared. He took a look around him, now all his housemates were sure that he was not a Death Eater, but some were still dubious of his intentions, it didn't matter anymore, Slytherin had now only half its original population, consisting only of those that didn't go to the Dark Lord in Christmas. Draco sighed in disappointment at the loss. How could they live humiliating themselves before that… man? Powerful as he may be, Malfoy believed that Slytherins were proud and superior, they shouldn't be bowing in front of anyone, not even the most powerful among themselves, they should be allies, not servants!

How many of them had been at the attack? Surely all that had survived the initiation test and subsequent rite. He focused again on his housemates, many had been somewhat relieved to finding him here when they returned, Malfoy could not fathom why.

Crabbe and Goyle had come back, but that was hardly a surprise, Draco had known that their parents wouldn't force them to do the initiation yet; they were in no hurry to present their incompetent children to the Dark Lord, so both of them were relatively safe over the break.

Zabini was back, in pretty bad shape but back, and with both arms free of any mark. He had run away from his home and Malfoy was still wondering how he had managed to hide. Draco had sent him to the hospital wing when he saw the boy was hardly walking, and Madam Pomfrey had said he was malnourished but he would be fine in short time. Malfoy was actually glad that Blaise had decided not to go to the Dark Lord. He was his friend after all.

Nott was one of those that didn't return, Draco wondered idly if he was still alive, he hoped not, servitude really didn't suit the boy. Of all the girls in his year, only Bulstrode was back, he really didn't miss Pansy, he was actually happy that she wouldn't be around to spoil his last days, but she was very alive. She had sent him a howler just after Christmas, and it had been one hell of a howler. Fortunately he had received it in his room, and if not for the fact that Granger hadn't mentioned anything relating to it, he would had been sure that the damn thing could be heard everywhere inside the castle; Parkinson was really angry at him, the howler even told him to forget their relationship, he had nearly jumped in happiness at that.

Malfoy senior hadn't sent anything, not a single word; that meant he didn't acknowledge having a son anymore, that had hurt a little, but Draco was not going to make it known. His godfather hadn't talked to him yet, Draco had avoided him all the winter break, he didn't want to meet the man's disappointment just yet, that would hurt even more than his father's tacit disownment. Narcissa had written him, telling him not to leave Hogwarts and to be careful. He appreciated his mother's concern, at least she was still talking to him, but then again, she had never been too fond of Lucius's ideals, Draco wished he could talk to her once more, but that would put her at risk and he didn't want that.

Someone pulled him out of his thoughts putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing slightly, Draco turned to see professor Snape behind him. _'Damn!'_ He wished the Earth would open and swallow him in that instant, but the potions master took no notice of his student's surprise.

"Mr. Malfoy, I didn't have time to talk with you over the holidays, come see me tomorrow morning at 7."

"Yes sir"

His godfather retreated again to the main table without another word, Malfoy gave a sigh of relief and continued his dinner, Crabbe leaned slightly to him to ask:

"What is he talking you about?"

"Don't know, maybe he'll ask why I disobeyed my father once more."

"Are you going?"

"What else am I supposed to do Vincent?"

"You shouldn't go alone, you know what he is."

"Don't worry, he's a professor, he can't kill me"

'_Which is a shame'_ he thought privately. Somehow he believed that his Godfather was the only one of the Death Eaters that would kill him fast. His eyes wandered along the other tables, stopping at Gryffindor's. It seemed the golden trio was back together, the weasel was doing some kind of joke by the look of it, Granger didn't seem so amused. The girl gave a quick glance to him and blushed a little, licking her lips automatically; there was still something of that need for passion in her eyes.

What a waste! Even when she had told him that she didn't feel physically attracted to any one of her two friends, and frankly seeing Weasley making a fool of himself he could understand why, she was still deeply attached to them.

Malfoy sighed, contemplating his life over the holidays, it had been nice, he had have some of the best sex of his young life, Granger was really sexy and she had been so willing to try everything he could think of, he hadn't hurt her again, they had maintained the illusion of lovers quite finely, the only mention to their private lives had been her making clear the fact that, no matter what the rest of the school believed, she was NOT marrying Potter or Weasley; and he confirming her his preference of death over being a Death Eater. She had asked him why he didn't go to Dumbledore and he had answered that since the final outcome would be the same, it wasn't worth bothering with, besides, he really didn't trust the old wizard. She hadn't been too happy with the answer, but she didn't press the matter.

After that neither of them talked about the Dark Lord or her friends anymore. Instead, they took their time exploring their bodies mutually, learning to pleasure each other; they even talked a little about school. Granger was a clever girl, very nice once you got throw her know-it-all syndrome. Malfoy couldn't help comparing her to his other occasional partners, she was really good, a fine woman indeed, and definitely much better than Pansy, he smiled thinking about it. If Parkinson knew she would surely kill him with her own hands for daring to compare her with a mudblood!

It was a shame that Granger wouldn't have the chance to make a nice wife for whatever husband she liked. Everyone in the school was practically dead now that the Dark Lord had decided to start the offensive in the war. Draco looked at the girl once more, she was rolling her eyes in exasperation at the weasel's antics, Malfoy thought that it was preferable to see her dead than a slave of the Death Eaters, as for her friends…

Weasley was now trying to eat a piece of chocolate cake and talk at the same time, some of the chocolate was in his nose and he tried to lick it. Uggg! What a disgusting display! How on earth did that ridiculous excuse of a wizard manage to befriend someone as smart as Granger? Gryffindor wasn't exactly full of ideal wizards, but surely someone had to be better than that!

Granger looked at him again somewhat longingly, Malfoy remembered that the last day of break she had been reluctant to part ways; he hadn't seen the necessity to stop seeing each other completely and he had told her so, but she had been dubious and had wanted to consider things a little more. Draco couldn't see what was to be considered, he was far too comfortable with their arrangement, but he now understood a little more her way of thinking.

This 'relationship' of theirs was no more than a fantasy, when they finished the term – if they finished it before reality reached Hogwarts – it would be over, he had absolutely no problems with that, but she had started to become fond of him, and she didn't want to grow too attached to him, and quite frankly he didn't want that either. She already had the idea that there wouldn't be another man in her life, she had told him so one night after he collapsed on her back, totally spent. Not that life would be awfully long anyway, but she was being ridiculous. If by some miracle of the Universe they had the chance to continue with their lives normally, he was sure she will find a suitable man for her, of course she will never forget Draco Malfoy, how could her? But being totally negated to have sex with another man was foolish! Granted, he had already stated that Granger was a nut case.

All in all, he had left the decision to her, he stated that he was willing to meet her from time to time. No one would find them in the secret room of the dungeons. Now, thinking things over, Malfoy wasn't so sure that he wanted this to continue. He was comfortable with it, but what if Granger got the wrong idea and start thinking of it as if it was real? What if she deluded herself into thinking there was something more besides the sex? He had already learned that she was easily lead to think things about him that weren't true. He didn't want her to believe he could actually feel something for her. There would never be anything more than a convenient lay between them.

'_Why am I thinking over this so much? It's all that gryffindor's fault!'_

Maybe it would be better to stop it, that way she could continue with her normal life a little longer with her friends. Laughter reached him from Gryffindor table, he watched as Weasley tried unsuccessfully to free his own head from the feathers that had sprouted from it; someone must have made a practical joke of him. Fool. Malfoy couldn't blame Granger for wanting something better.

He finished dinner and stood, walking to the doors with Crabbe and Goyle at his sides. If Granger decided to stop their meetings it would be best, maybe he'd do it himself before she set her mind. Draco glanced at Gryffindor once more, catching Potter with an arm around Granger's shoulders, leaning into her ear to tell her something. Malfoy felt as if his temples were aching, his scowl deepened, automatically willing Potter to take his hands off her. He shook his head to clear it, and walked decidedly out of the Great Hall. Yes, it would definitely be for the best if they didn't meet anymore.


	7. A quick attack

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**Warning:** implied slash, non-con and an attempted rape in this chapter. Don't read if you don't like it.

**

* * *

Chapter 07 A quick attack. **

Malfoy woke up early the next day ready to confront his godfather. He had already made his decision; he would make it known, and maybe ask for the potions master to be the one who would kill him. First he'll try to convince the man he respected most that humiliation was not power, that the Death Eaters will gain nothing from servitude to the Dark Lord. He wasn't expecting to change Snape's mind, but at least he could make the reasons for his choice clear.

He went downstairs, it was still too early for anyone to be in the common room, but when he was about to exit he noticed in the scarce light a bundle in one of the armchairs. Curious he approached it and removed the blanket that partially covered it. It was Blaise, sound asleep and looking paler than last afternoon. Draco sighed in exasperation; surely the boy did a fast visit to his girlfriend in the night, and had been too tired to go upstairs. But then he noticed that the blanket was from one of the Slytherin's beds and Zabini had his night shirt on. So if he had gone to his own room, then why was he here? Draco shook him gently and Zabini's black eyes snapped open in surprise.

"Oh, Draco, it's you"

"What are you doing here Blaise? Got some strange habits during the break?"

"Hell, no! I… I just couldn't sleep… I think Crabbe and Goyle make me nervous."

"Don't be silly! Those two are harmless; neither would follow the Dark Lord. In fact, there's no one left in Slytherin faithful to him."

"…You sure of that?" Blaise looked at him questioningly; Draco supposed the boy was asking him about his own choices.

"I'm sure Zabini. I'd rather be dead"

"Which is how we will all end sooner or later, is it not?"

"Yeah, but at least it's our choice."

"You don't sound too convinced."

"Well, I actually really like my life, but between ending it or being a servant, I prefer the former."

"Mmm."

"Go back to your room Blaise, it is morning already, see you at breakfast"

Draco started to walk towards the exit again, when Blaise's voice stopped him.

"Draco!"

"Yes?"

"Er… listen, could I take a short nap in your room? I… I don't want to wake up those two yet."

Blaise was biting his lip in nervousness and Malfoy narrowed his eyes. Instinct was telling him that Zabini was hiding something.

"Sure, I'll be back in a moment"

"Thanks" The boy stood and surrounded himself with the blanket. "Er… you be careful ok?"

"Sure." Malfoy quirked up an eyebrow and watched his friend walks towards the stairs and climb up. Was it his imagination or was Blaise limping slightly? He wanted to go and ask the boy if everything was all right, but professor Snape was waiting for him and he would have to hurry or he'd be late. Draco turned and exited the common room, thinking that he would have to talk with Zabini later. He failed to notice the dark stain in the armchair where Blaise had been sleeping.

* * *

Draco entered his professor's private office feeling strangely calm, and took a seat in front of him, waiting for harsh words that never came. His godfather didn't ask for any kind of explanation, neither did he make the smallest comment on Draco's actions; instead he delivered a little speech which fashioned after the one the Headmaster gave at dinner. It seemed as if the potions master felt Dumbledore's reassurances as more of a threat. 

"You know Mr. Malfoy that now Slytherin house will be closely watched; I think some of your schoolmates would prove to be most annoying from now on. I'm counting on you to keep the house united, we are much less now, but that doesn't mean we are going to let the other houses see us as weak. Maybe some of the students will try to make alliances, be very careful of what you say and to whom you say it, I don't need to tell you that not all the students from the other houses are oblivious to the recent events outside Hogwarts and how that affects our house, do I?"

"No sir." Draco had for some odd reason thought about Granger, but he realized the potions master was talking about the other followers of the Dark Lord, those that weren't Slytherin and were still at Hogwarts; spies of a sort for the dark wizard.

"Good. I'm sure you are quite capable of looking after yourself, and to not make any unwise comments to the wrong people."

"Don't worry sir… I will be careful."

Snape walked to the chair where Malfoy was sitting and grabbed one of the boy's shoulders.

"You better be boy, now that you have made your choice, you will have to live with it."

'_Most likely die with it'_ thought Malfoy. At last the man was acknowledging his godson's decision. Draco waited for the rest of the reprimand; the professor's hand on his shoulder felt heavy but comforting at the same time, his godfather's voice was clear in his ears.

"I hope you don't make the mistake of taking the Headmaster's words for granted, and delude yourself into thinking that you're safe just for being inside Hogwarts."

Draco smirked and shook his head a little.

"I'm not that stupid. I know perfectly well that no place is safe now."

"Good" Snape released him and started to walk again to his desk. "Now go, and be sure that Slytherin house will take it easy in this unity project of the Headmaster, I want everyone to know perfectly well the floor in which they're standing on before starting to make alliances. They must understand the risk of their position now."

Draco was really shocked at this; he stared at his godfather wondering if the man still had doubts about the boy's position, or if he simply wasn't understanding what his godfather wanted. Snape turned to look at him when he didn't move and lifted an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?"

'_Sure there is. Who are you and where my godfather is?'_ he thought somewhat confused. "I… well sir, I had thought that you… I mean you are… mmm… one of my father's 'friends' and I don't think they're very pleased with me right now. So I thought you… uh…"

Draco found himself at a loss for words. What was he really expecting from this man? This was Hogwarts after all, and Snape was a professor, he couldn't threaten a student with death, much less crucio him, but then the boy realized he had been expecting anger, disapproval, disappointment, even distaste from him. None of those feelings had been present in his godfather's eyes, and it had been so shocking to not find them there that his brain had demanded an explanation rather than feeling relieved because of it. Snape must have sensed his discomfiture because he turned to him and said,

"You expected perhaps punishment for your rebellious attitude towards your father? Mr. Malfoy I really have no place interfering in your relation with him, even when it affects your future directly. I think you're old enough to know the consequences of your actions."

'_Just great! He thinks I'm doing this because of some quarrel with my father? Give me some credit man!'_ Before he could think what he was doing, he locked eyes with his godfather and started explaining to him the reason for his decision; he didn't want the man thinking that his choice was only a tantrum on his part.

"It has nothing to do with father; I'm still here because I decided a long time ago that I was not going to join his circle of 'friends.'"

"You did?" asked Snape with a dubious look; the boy felt as though he was not being considered seriously.

"Yes, you just said that I'm old enough to know the consequences of my actions, why do I have the impression that you don't believe it?"

Snape turned again to face his student fully. "Draco, I know perfectly well that you have put some thought into your decision and have considered it carefully. While I fail to comprehend the motives, I accept it. What I wonder boy, is if you will change your mind when you see your father."

Malfoy took a sharp intake of breath, the image of his father at a robbed figure's feet clear in his mind, only once he had seen the Dark Lord and a few of his Death Eaters, that one time had been enough for him to despise them all.

"I assure you godfather, I will keep my choice."

"We'll see, I suppose you know what the only path you have is now."

The blond watched his godfather carefully, realizing the man believed that he wanted to continue living, so the 'path' he was referring to was Dumbledore. His face did a gesture of distaste.

"I'm going neutral for now."

"Neutrality is a pleasure that you'd only get while in Hogwarts, but soon you will have to make your decision and there are only two choices in this war Draco, you're with your father's master, or you are not."

'_There's still a third choice godfather, that's what I get'_ Draco thought while watching the man in front of him and said clearly: "I'll keep that in mind"

Snape narrowed his eyes at him, maybe in annoyance, Malfoy wanted to say more, he wanted to tell his godfather all the reasons he had to not follow the Dark Lord, all that he was planning to say in the first place, but he got the impression that, somehow, the man already knew them. It was an odd feeling, but enough for him to shut up and just listen to the potions master.

"Very well then, now go, breakfast is waiting"

"Yes sir"

Draco walked to the door, stopped at the doorway and turned a last time.

"Sir?"

"Something else Mr. Malfoy?"

'_Why? Why are you following him? Will you be the one who kills me? I prefer it that way'_ Draco watched the man he respected more than his own father, and bit his lip, he really didn't want to know. "Nothing Sir." And he was gone.

Snape saw his godson leave the office and narrowed his eyes in concern. There was death in the mind of the young Malfoy, had been there for a while if his insight had been correct. How could it have escaped him? The boy had seemed depressed since his father had been sent to Azkaban, but Snape had thought it of little importance, thinking that it was a natural sentiment for a son. Now it seemed like he had made a mistake. He had been so pleased that Draco had not gone to the Dark Lord, thinking that maybe the boy would make a choice that could save him from the dark wizard's claws. In a way he had done it, Draco Malfoy had chosen death over servitude. Snape didn't like it; he would very much prefer the boy to be alive when all this mess was finished. That was if it finished with the Dark Lord dead. If that was not the case, then he would happily join his godson in a tour to the forbidden forest without wand; until then he decided that he had better keep a closer watch on the boy.

* * *

Draco walked slowly back to the Slytherin common room, feeling utterly confused. He really didn't know how to deal with his godfather's apparent acceptance of the situation. He had felt highly uncomfortable with the man's calm demeanor; he would have preferred an angrier Snape than what he had been given. Maybe Granger wasn't the only nut case around here. 

And there he was, thinking about Granger again. Damn! He was really going to miss her body beside his. It had felt so good having something so nice for once in his life, something not tainted by the shadow of his father. Even his occasional affairs had been spoiled by the threat of Lucius' anger. He sighed, better to forget it; he had gotten his little piece of heaven for a while and she really did mean nothing to him, it was better to keep it that way.

He kept on walking, his mind wandering back to his little talk with his Head of House, in an effort to stop his memories of Granger's body. He thought that getting his house under control would be no problem. Then his mind registered something it had dismissed as unimportant before, professor Snape had said something about a unity project? What unity project? Great! It seemed that he had lost an important part of Dumbledore's speech last night. He was thinking about asking Zabini about it when he remembered the boy had taken dinner in the hospital wing, under the watchful eyes of Madam Pomfrey. There was no point in asking Crabbe or Goyle, it would be a miracle if either of them remembered there was even a speech, well, the only seventh year he was left with was Bulstrode, he'll have to ask her then.

He wasn't far from the last turn in the corridor that would take him to the entrance to Slytherin house, when someone grabbed him by the neck of his robe and pulled him into a dark room, Malfoy didn't have time to react as a fist connected with his stomach, leaving him without air, then strong arms pinned him to a wall. His entire body was trapped beneath another bigger one, a hand took hold of his jaw and slammed his head into the rough stone behind; the pain made him see stars and he felt his legs give out. He would have fallen if his aggressor hadn't supported him, keeping his body immobile against the wall, he fought the dizziness and confusion and tried to focus on the face in front of him, it was familiar.

"V-Vincent?"

The bigger boy smirked at him, Draco tried unsuccessfully to free himself.

"Crabbe, what are you…? Uugg!"

A knee connected with his lower abdomen and Malfoy gasped in pain, desperately trying to breath.

"Quiet Malfoy, you're in no position to ask for explanations."

That voice was not Vincent's, neither was it Goyle's. Draco opened his eyes to see who else was in the room with them, it was very dark but he could made out a slender figure, about his height, the hair was cut short and he could not see the face, the voice suggested a boy. Draco watched the figure warily, waiting for it to come a little closer, which it did, and the blond registered a Ravenclaw tie. The features of his attacker were more distinct now but it took him a minute to attach a name to the face.

"Marshall"

"Hello Malfoy, we missed you in Christmas. Your father was most annoyed at your absence. Your girlfriend just wanted to kill you."

Draco's eyes narrowed, assessing the boy in front of him. His family was a Pureblooded one, but he had thought only the Slytherins had done the initiations, the others weren't supposed to do it until they were out of school.

"You were there Marshall? I'm surprised you are still alive. What are you doing here?"

"What? You weren't expecting retribution Malfoy? Oh wait, I see, you think I have taken the initiation too. Well I certainly wish I had, but our Lord has other plans. He honored a few of us with taking an active role in it as part of our initiation."

"What an honor" Draco said sarcastically. "Surely you feel elated by it."

"I am Malfoy, and part of this is to make sure the blood traitors like you had a reminder of who's gonna win this war and realize the mistake they had committed."

Malfoy's head was still protesting in pain and he was having a hard time trying to ignore it, but was doing his best to pay attention to the words being spoken. Crabbe put a little more force than necessary to keep him immobile. Draco glared at him and scanned what he saw of the room, searching for the other half of the duo.

"Where's Goyle?"

At his question Crabbe made a disgusted face.

"Uh, that idiot bastard. He's a coward, same as you Malfoy. I begged my father to take me to the initiation, he refused to let me take it but I was there, I saw the Dark Lord and I understood how stupid you are Malfoy! Goyle didn't want to hear me; as I said, he's a coward, too bad for him. I'm going with the winner and I'm going to make sure you all blood traitors get what you deserve!"

Draco was ready to make some sarcastic comment when an image crossed his mind, he remembered Zabini climbing up the stairs to his room. Limping. Sudden realization hit him and his eyes hardened.

"What did you do to Blaise?"

The stupid face of Crabbe contorted in a fake smile.

"He has a nice ass you know? I have always wanted him for myself."

"You bastard! Nnn!"

Marshall had taken Draco's hair and forced him to take his eyes from Crabbe, the pain in his skull renewed itself.

"Enough talking Malfoy! It's time you have a taste of what it means to betray our Lord!"

The boy grabbed Draco's left arm and exposed it up to the elbow, which Crabbe pinned to the wall, then Marshall took out his wand and put a silencing spell on the blond, after that he produced a knife out of somewhere, the blade was dark and it seemed to be wet, Malfoy supposed it had been submerged in a potion, he tried to fight Crabbe's hold on his arm, but with the boy's considerable weight over the rest of him he had no leverage to escape it.

Marshall put the knife to his prisoner's wrist, smiling evilly at the blond boy.

"You denied the honor of the Dark Mark Malfoy, then you'd have to be marked as the coward you are"

Then the Ravenclaw started to cut the white skin, at the mere contact with the blade pure pain ran across Malfoy's arm, his skin seemed to be melting rather than being cut, the blonde's mouth opened in a painful, silent scream, and he trashed in Crabbe's hold, desperate to escape the excruciating pain. Vincent held him still while Marshall continued carving a pattern in the wrist, not bothering with the blood that started to seep freely from the wounds inflicted to his victim, the room started to smell of burned skin.

Marshall took his time, intent on doing a good job on Draco, he finished whatever figure he was designing and made two long cuts along the arm, Malfoy felt fire radiating from them to his entire body, his blood seemed to increase the pain as it escaped his veins, Crabbe finally released him and he fell to the floor, quickly cradling his injured arm to his chest. The blood flow wasn't stopping, the pain wasn't fading and as Malfoy started to curl himself in a tight ball, someone took a hold of his hair and yanked at it, forcing him into a kneeling position, he heard the laugh of the two boys and quite suddenly someone's lips were over his, he opened his eyes in shock while he felt a tongue wanting to force its way past his teeth, he let it and immediately gave the intruder a strong bite, he tasted blood and hear the scream with a certain amount of satisfaction, that earned him a solid hit to his face and a kick to his bowels. One of the boys grabbed his right arm and twisted it painfully to his back while yanking at his hair again to keep him upright, something snapped and Draco felt new pain radiating from his right shoulder, his mouth opened in another silent cry. Marshall's voice got to him through the dizziness and the darkness that seemed to be closing around him.

"That wasn't very smart Malfoy. Too bad I can't cast an Unforgivable here, but I have a better idea…"

Fingers were at his cheeks, forcing his mouth open, he tasted the blood that was surely dripping from his nose or his upper lip, he saw Marshall's lower body in front of him, the boy had discarded his robe at sometime and his erection was all too obvious through his open trousers.

"Now you're gonna do this right Malfoy."

Draco couldn't hear very well now. The pain in his body was numbing him. He felt a wet contact with his cheek… and suddenly he heard a loud cry and the shadow in front of him that was Marshall was surprisingly gone. An instant later something behind him must have crashed into Crabbe, because he felt the pull and was dragged along with his captor towards the hard floor. He stayed there sprawled inelegantly, feeling again the pain in all his muscles that refused to go, his temples palpitating loudly. He couldn't see but he had the suspicion that was because his eyes were closed and he couldn't open them for a reason beyond his current comprehension, in fact it seemed like he couldn't move at all.

'_Well, this is it'_ he thought with the little consciousness that still remained in him _'The knife must have had some kind of poison on it and I'm going to die… I always knew Marshall was an idiotic prat…'_

He felt hands on him as someone changed his position unceremoniously. His shoulder protested at the treatment but he couldn't do a thing to prevent it. He heard a familiar voice. It was urgent and worried, and sounded as though it came from far away.

"Draco! Malfoy you hear me?"

'_Blaise? What are you doing here?'_ The voice was fading and Malfoy was suddenly sure this would be the last thing he would hear; he wished it could have been somewhere else.

"Draco, open your eyes! Bloody shit Malfoy! Answer me! Open your damn eyes!"

'_Don't be stupid Blaise; can't you see I'm dead?'_

He couldn't hear anymore. Strangely an image of Granger appeared in his head, odd, he felt like laughing, he was dying and instead of seeing images of his fading life he saw his last affair, a bloody Gryffindor at that! It was funny. Maybe if he became a ghost he could go to his godfather and tell him about it. His last coherent thought before blissful darkness took him, was that he would have liked to say goodbye properly.


	8. I don't want it to end

Thanks to my betas Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**

* * *

Chapter 08 I don't want it to end. **

Hermione was picking at her dinner with a worried expression; she hadn't seen hair nor head of Malfoy all day. He skipped Arithmancy and didn't make an appearance at breakfast or lunch, nor did he attend the prefect meeting that took place before dinner, and when they asked the remaining Slytherin prefects where Malfoy was, they only said that he had some urgent things to fix. Professor Snape hadn't said a thing and no one had asked any more questions. The fact that Slytherin table was unusually quiet and Crabbe and Goyle both looked like they had a fight with the Whomping Willow did nothing to ease her.

Harry and Ron of course were making the most incredible suppositions, all because the Daily Prophet had reported another attack, this time to Azkaban, with the help of the Dementors; the wizarding prison was now a crumble of stones and dust. The boys were certain that Malfoy had escaped Hogwarts in the night to reunite with the Death Eaters and were both hopping the blond had been killed during the attack or badly injured, in their view that also explained why Crabbe and Goyle looked worse for the wear, Crabbe especially looked as if he had taken the worst part of whatever it was they had taken. Hermione had let her anger get the best of her and had rudely shouted to them that Malfoy's affairs were not their business and to stop making ridiculous assumptions.

Now she was not talking to them and staring at Slytherin table, hoping beyond hope that somehow she would become a Legiliment or that someone would just turn to her and tell her where the hell Malfoy was. Over all that she was annoyed with herself. She was acting like a lovesick girlfriend for God's sake! She was supposed to be over her infatuation with Malfoy! But she was sure something very bad had happened and she wanted to see him safe.

She stopped eating and sighed in exasperation. She was going to kill the bastard herself the moment he appeared, for making her be this worried. The worst part was that she couldn't go to the Slytherins or the hospital wing and ask for Malfoy. They both had sworn that they wouldn't do anything that could make others suspicious and she had already acted too much out of character with her friends. They didn't understand why she had taken to defending Malfoy.

Hermione pushed her plate aside and stood to leave, she noticed Harry and Ron were watching her and started preparing to follow. When they caught up with her halfway to Gryffindor Tower, she had already decided on what to tell them.

"Hermione, wait!" Harry's voice was a little worried, she turned to them with a tired expression.

"Hermione, listen, we need to talk."

"No more Death Eaters Harry. That seems to be all we talk about lately"

"Gezz Hermione, we're worried about you," said Ron getting closer to her, she frowned without him noticing her discomfort. "You're acting weird you know."

"Er… I suppose I'm a little stressed. I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't want to be rude, it's just that I still can't believe we're really in a war, it seems so unreal."

Harry reached up and embraced her. She tensed a little, but forced herself to relax, she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable having them so close to her.

"I understand Hermione. Everybody is trying to ignore it, but we can't let our guard down. We have to be even more careful, and I know Malfoy means trouble Hermione, even if you don't want to accept it."

"Really, Hermione," Said Ron "I don't know what you see in him that's different. He's the same spoiled prat as before."

"If he's up to something, we need to know what it is, so we can stop him from doing damage. You agree with this don't you?"

Hermione breathed deeply, and mentally crossed her fingers behind her back, while giving Harry the answer he wanted to hear.

"Yeah, you're right Harry, we must be very careful with him."

"At last!" Said Ron triumphantly, "You certainly are hard to convince 'Mione. Now, changing the subject. Have you finished your charms essay yet? I can't understand a thing!"

"Ron! How're you supposed to pass your N.E.W.T.S? I'm not going to help you forever you know?"

"Why not?"

And they continued their way to Gryffindor Tower, the subject of Malfoy temporarily forgotten between them.

* * *

Breakfast came and still no Malfoy and now Crabbe was absent as well. The rumors were that the blond was ill and recovering at the hospital wing. Hermione faked a headache and went directly to Madam Pomfrey. She managed to get a glimpse of a curtained bed at her arrival. Blaise Zabini and Goyle entered shortly after her and approached to the bed in question, which gave her confirmation of its occupant. While she was waiting for the mediwitch to retrieve a suitable potion for her, she could hear some faint words of the conversation between the three boys and she believed she could distinctly hear Malfoy's voice threatening to kill someone and she smiled. Well, he must be much better if he already had a mind for vengeance; that eased her mind considerably and she left the hospital wing in better spirits. 

It didn't last long because at lunch Malfoy still hadn't reappeared. Zabini wasn't present, but Crabbe was, looking like he had been used as a bludger in a beater's practice. Hermione noticed that Crabbe and Goyle were not talking to each other since the day before. She frowned in worry. What could have happened between them? And why was Malfoy still in the hospital wing? His voice had sounded all right to her. She sighed and decided to take her chances and go to the hospital wing again.

Her only problem was that neither Ron, nor Harry would leave her alone for the remainder of the day, as they had a especially difficult essay for transfiguration to deliver the next day, and of course they had left it to the last moment for her to aide them. Hermione had to resign herself to wait till after dinner, consoling herself with the thought that at least she knew Malfoy was alive.

Her other problem was that she was seriously reconsidering her decision to stop seeing the blond Slytherin, and she didn't want to reconsider it. She had been sure that the best thing for her was to be away from him, but her body wouldn't listen to reason. It also worried her that she didn't feel at ease around other boys. She flinched and tensed imperceptibly when anyone touched her. It had been like this since Halloween, but it seemed to have increased over the holidays. It was as if she couldn't bear for any boy other than Malfoy to be too close to her. She was fighting it, forcing herself to keep contact with her friends, and so far no one had seemed to perceive her uneasiness. She also missed Malfoy, she missed his touch and his voice. She had promised herself not to get attached to him, but now she realized it was too late.

He had said it wouldn't be a problem if she wanted to continue their little affair. Well, she hadn't want to, more for principles than a real desire to stop, but now she was starting to think that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Why not continue something that made her feel happy and satisfied? Why deny herself the chance to be near someone she wanted and was starting to like so much? Perhaps she might even be able to make him forget that stupid idea of suicide he still had. She had nothing to lose by trying. After much debating with herself she set her mind and endured Ron's proximity while they finished their homework, then she hurried to her room to retrieve what she needed before they had to go to the Great Hall.

Dinner time came and the golden trio entered the Great Hall early. Hermione had Crookshanks at her side and Harry and Ron were talking about their oncoming Quidditch practice, and how they would beat Slytherin to the cup this year. None of them paid attention to the cat and the little box Hermione had magically tied to his neck. Crookshanks was most annoyed by it; he hated having things hanging from him.

Hermione took her usual seat and scanned Slytherin table, Crabbe was there, and Bulstrode was eying him with red eyes and pure hatred in them. Hermione asked herself for the millionth time what was happening in Slytherin. Some of them seemed to group with Crabbe, but the majority were none too friendly towards him.

"Hey look! Little Slytherin prince has come back at last!" said Finnegan.

Hermione turned her head to the doors. Sure enough, Malfoy was making his entrance, talking with Zabini, Goyle was following them looking rather relieved, Hermione couldn't help feeling the same way; she smiled inwardly and followed the blond boy with her eyes.

"He looks so full of himself. Doesn't he?" said Ron mockingly.

"I think he looks paler than usual" Harry answered, eying the boy warily. Hermione agreed with him, Malfoy didn't look entirely like himself, she frowned in suspicion.

What happened next in Slytherin table was really a sight. Malfoy walked to the head of the table and suddenly Crabbe stood and got in his way, apparently trying to push him. Malfoy stooped in front of the bigger boy and held his ground, glaring daggers at Vincent. Goyle intended to put himself between the two, but the blond stooped him by lifting an arm in front of him.

Hermione couldn't believe it. Was Crabbe really defying Malfoy? She turned to look at her friends, who were as openmouthed and shocked as she was. Many other students were throwing curious glances at the Slytherin pair, and the rest of Slytherins were silently watching the exchange.

Malfoy hissed something at Crabbe and the boy paled, almost visibly struggling to retort, Draco smirked and said something else, Crabbe blushed and shouted a "Shut up!" that made every eye in the Great Hall turn to them. Hermione worried a little, the boy seemed ready to strike, but Malfoy didn't move an inch and none of the Slytherins intervened. Finally Crabbe stuttered something and, getting redder, he angrily moved and sat down again, not looking at anyone. Malfoy kept smirking and continued walking to his seat. The rest of his House continued eating as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Hermione noticed that the atmosphere surrounding the table had become visibly lighter.

The Gryffindor girl sighed in relief. Honestly! Who was foolish enough to try to beat Malfoy in a glare match? Was Crabbe really expecting he could defy Malfoy in public and make him retreat or even flinch? That was absolute insanity!

"That was something new." Ron was saying to Harry. "You think they have problems over who's the leader?"

"I can't picture Crabbe fighting for leadership with Malfoy." Harry answered in no apparent worry. "It just wouldn't do. Probably he's tired of being bossed around; maybe he didn't like being dragged to whatever mission for Voldemort Malfoy has." Ron flinched in discomfort at the name, but continued with the topic.

"You think Malfoy will be in trouble with the rest of his House? That would be great!"

"Don't know, maybe that's why he's still here, to convince the rest of Slytherin to join the Dark Lord. What do you think Hermione?"

"Err… well, they sure have a disagreement. Maybe they're changing alliances?"

"Umph. Maybe Crabbe is not as stupid as it seems, but I really doubt he'll risk changing alliances in the open."

"Hey guys! Look at this!" a loud voice interrupted them and Harry and Ron turned their attention to some artifact Dean Thomas had let lose in the table and was making havoc over Neville's smashed potatoes.

Hermione turned her attention once more to Slytherin, and poked slightly with her foot at Crookshanks who was hidden under the table, she received an undignified meow from below and the cat was gone. Some minutes later she saw the blond boy leaning to the floor and straighten again with an annoyed frown in his face, Hermione bitted her lower lip, perhaps it wasn't a good time. Malfoy pocketed something in his robes and spared her a glance before continuing eating.

Hermione poked at her dinner slightly disappointed, she felt something furry at her legs and gave Crookshanks part of her cool meal. After a few minutes Ron turned and leaned into her ear.

"Hermione, do you want us to go ahead?"

She tensed instantly, Ron's arm embraced her shoulders and she blushed.

"Err… I'm not finished Ron… and … you haven't had dessert yet." Hermione tried to shake his arm off her, it was making her nervous.

"Well, actually I've been wanting to talk with you… about… well, you know what."

Ron was a little embarrassed, but Hermione barely noticed, she wanted out of Ron's reach quickly; she managed to get free of his arm and turned to see him in the face.

"No, you see, I… I don't think it's a good time."

"Oh, come on 'Mione!" Without letting her say anything else he leaned into her.

Hermione had a fraction of a second to turn away and she did. Ron's lips barely missed hers and kissed the side of her mouth instead. She went paper white, her eyes widened in shock, looking straight into the furious ones of Malfoy, who obviously chose the worst moment to look at her. Ron's voice was unintelligible to her ears and she felt someone's hands grabbing her shoulders from behind, she saw Malfoy's eyes narrowing almost threateningly and then he looked away. Harry's voice got through to her brain.

"'Mione. You alright?"

"Oh." She blinked, getting hold of herself and the tears that suddenly wanted to show in her eyes. "Yeah, yes, Harry I… I just… I'm not feeling so well… I'll see you both later."

And she stood and ran out of the Great Hall, feeling oddly depressed and confused, and wanting very much to be alone.

* * *

Malfoy saw the bushy haired girl ran out of the Great Hall and glared evilly at her two, seemingly shocked, friends. They looked like they didn't know what they had done wrong. Draco gritted his teeth, debating whether he should go after her or not. 

"What am I thinking? It's not my business!"

And he returned to poke at his food with unnecessary force. Over the course of the dinner he had progressed from being annoyed to being furious. Granted he had already been fuming about Crabbe and Marshall. The stupid idiots! It turned out that the knife had been submerged in a forbidden potion which was not poisonous by itself, but it had become so due to incompetent brewing. If Zabini and Goyle had not interrupted the moment they did, he would have died by accident, and his two would be killers would have been in serious trouble. The Dark Lord wasn't fond of mistakes.

Malfoy was most annoyed that due to their idiocy he had to spend two days in the hospital wing and his arm still ached. They truly pretended to be Death Eaters? They weren't even capable of brewing a potion right! They won't survive a week with the Death Eaters! Hell, most probably wouldn't even survive the initiation!

His humor had darkened further when Crabbe had tried to challenge him. Honestly! Who did he think he was! Crabbe was being more than an imbecile if he thought Malfoy was going to submit to him. Draco knew that Blaise had already had his revenge on the boy, if Vincent had been expecting Zabini to keep quiet and not retaliate he should have thought twice. You can surprise Blaise once, but that's the only chance you'll ever get. He wasn't a Slytherin for nothing.

Still, it seemed like Crabbe needed another reminder of his place inside the House. Malfoy was now very aware that there might still be some potential followers of the Dark Lord, and that he should be especially careful from now on.

He had been considering his house mates carefully, when Granger's cat had come with the little box in which he had sent her the ring at Christmas. He had pocketed it without opening it; his mood was foul enough without acknowledging the fact that he wasn't going to have the best affair of his life anymore. However, he had been unable to shut her out completely. He kept throwing occasional glances at her without really registering her face, until Weasley had gotten too close to her, then he had stared. Granger hadn't looked happy with her friend's arm over her, but he seemed oblivious to it. Malfoy had started to feel his head ache and unconsciously clutched his fists, then the Weasel had tried to kiss her! Malfoy had felt anger boiling inside him. How dare he! Potter got behind her too, holding her shoulders.

Malfoy had completely forgotten that it wasn't his business and that they weren't anything to each other. He forgot that they were supposed to stop sleeping together. He hadn't been able to get past the thought of _"Get your hands off her!"_ until Granger stood and fled the Great Hall.

Now he was trying very hard to collect himself and get a grip on reality. Damn the stupid mudblood! He was not supposed to feel this way over her! She was just a convenient lay! He had never been jealous of a convenient lay! He was truly outraged now, for a moment he wished Marshall would step in front of him, looking for trouble, so he could beat somebody's face to a pulp. Zabini sensed his unease and started talking to him about the classes he had missed, trying to distract him. He succeeded partially, when dinner was finished Malfoy was more like his cool self, but he was still going to beat somebody to a bloody pulp. He had planned Crabbe's punishment with the rest of the seventh years and now he was even more eager to do it. When the rest of the Slytherins had cleared the table, Malfoy, Zabini and Goyle retired also.

The three entered Slytherin common room, wands ready to strike. They were the last to arrive and Malfoy knew the common room would be full. The Slytherins would want to see what he was capable of doing to someone who had betrayed him. He immediately spotted Crabbe trying to shove Millicent out of his way to the boy's dormitories, every Slytherin remained silent and out of the way as they watched the trio entering. Malfoy smirked with hatred. Crabbe had not turned and that meant he was too stupid to realize he was in deep trouble. It seemed like he didn't remember the painful experience of Zabini's payback. Draco raised his wand lazily and various shouts of "Expelliarmus!" were heard.

None touched him, but his sent Crabbe crashing into the wall near the stairs, slightly missing hitting Bulstrode. Some of the Slytherins had drawn their wands at him only to have them pulled out of their reach, after all Malfoy had been expecting it. He believed Crabbe could at least manage to convince some of the younger boys to side with him; Goyle, Zabini and Bulstrode took care of them, binding them to the walls so they could see. Malfoy advanced a few steps towards Crabbe, still smirking.

"Going somewhere Vincent? I think we have some issues to make clear."

"You blood traitor! You are going to be very sorry for this!" Shouted Crabbe in an attempt to hide his fear but Malfoy didn't fall for it.

"Me? Oh, no Crabbe. I think you are the one who's gonna be sorry for not killing me properly." And with that he waved his wand and started.

* * *

Some time later, Malfoy entered his private room, still in a grim mood, and started to rid himself of his robes. Someone would have to take Crabbe to the hospital wing but that would be tomorrow, now it seemed like no one really cared for Vincent's fate. He sighed and looked about for his pajamas. His left arm was heavily bandaged and he couldn't move it so well, his fingers still felt numb and he flexed them a little while he was changing. Then as he folded the school uniform neatly in a chair, he felt the little bundle in one of the robe's pockets and got the box out, glaring at it like it was the box's fault he would never have a sweet night again. 

He didn't want to open it, although he had already decided that the best thing to do was to stop these ridiculous meetings. The truth was that she had been the only woman with whom he had felt comfortable. She was different in so many ways compared to the others he had met, he had wanted to know more about her, and for the first time in his life he had wanted her to know him.

He groaned and shook his head. '_It'll go away' _he thought, '_Potter and Weasley will be fumbling over her and soon the winter break will be just another nice memory' _He gritted his teeth unconsciously, thinking of those two idiotic prats near Granger, and groaned again when he realized he was doing it. This wasn't right, he should get her out of his mind before his possessiveness took hold of him. Usually, he was truly possessive of all that he considered his; his home, his things, his family, his friends. So far he had not had someone whom he considered his lover, though Blaise had once been near to that, he preferred him to be under the term friend. He didn't know where to put Granger and that made him edgy. No, better to banish her from his thoughts. Maybe he'd create a label that said 'ex-enemy'. He smiled at that, he was thinking nonsense, his brain must be seriously damaged.

He threw the little box to a bedside table, it bounced and fell to the floor, opening. Malfoy stared at the box and the tiny piece of parchment that had been inside. The ring was no where to be seen. Frowning he crouched on the floor and took the note, making sure that nothing else was in the box. It said in neatly written letters:

'_I don't want it to end.'_

Malfoy stayed in the same position for a couple of minutes, his brain refusing to work the phrase out. Finally, he let a faint smile appear on his lips while his thoughts raced furiously in his mind. Of course she didn't want it to end. Who would want something so good to end? He had offered to continue after all, she was only taking up his offer. But they shouldn't do it. They should stop it now while they could. She had no idea of what she was getting into with him. Hell, he had no idea either. They really should stop it.

"Oh, What the hell!"

Malfoy let himself fall in the bed, some part of his brain having apparently decided that it was already too late to stop it without him noticing. He decided not to think about it until he talked to her, maybe tomorrow, maybe she'd change her mind about it.

All in all, he went to sleep in a much improved mood.

* * *

Hermione sighed in satisfaction when she felt Draco's lips nipping at her neck, his sculpted body over hers, pressing her into the mattress, her breasts pressed against the white skin of his chest, one of his arms surrounding her shoulders, holding her tight. She could feel the length of his erection pressed against one of her thighs and his hand between her legs, pressing into her sex, rubbing the clitoris in small slow circles. She moaned in excitement, she wanted his lips over hers; she wanted to see his eyes while he kissed her… 

A loud knock on the door surprised her and she straightened up in bed, the image of Malfoy vanishing in the light of early morning. Hermione groaned in frustration. What could have been so important for somebody to call her first thing in the morning? The knocking started again and Ginny Weasley's voice got to her.

"Hermione? Are you awake already? Can I talk to you?"

'_Mph, well I'm awake now'_ Hermione frowned, she imagined what it was Ginny wanted to talk about and she didn't want to talk about it, but Ginny wouldn't go away, so she supposed it was better to grant her entrance. She reluctantly unlocked the door with her wand.

"Come in Ginny, it's open now!"

The younger Weasley entered the room and took a seat on the bed; she already had her uniform on. She looked directly at the Gryffindor head girl.

"Are you alright Hermione? Harry and Ron are worried about you. Something happened at dinner?"

"No, I just didn't feel well. You see? I think I'm developing a migraine, I should go to Madam Pomfrey later in the day, maybe she could tell me why I'm this cranky"

Hermione gave a tiny apologetic smile; she would be dead before confessing to Ginny the true reason for her crankiness and bad mood, the red haired girl smiled knowingly and leaned to her a little.

"I know exactly what you need."

"Do you?"

"Of course! You have been in so much stress lately, with the N.E.W.T.S. and the pressure of You-Know-Who. Last year you over exerted yourself researching all kinds of advanced magic that could be useful to us. You need to relax Hermione!"

"Well, it's not like I have much time to relax." _'Except the nights, I wonder if he'll want to continue after all.'_

"I tell you what. Why not I convince Ron to take a walk with you over the grounds, at dusk, you can smell fresh air and relax and do small talk and forget about school and the war for a little while. Maybe you can even find a suitable lonely spot, I know that he has been meaning to find the right time to talk privately with you, it would be a good opportunity don't you think so?"

Hermione felt color slowly draining from her face, Ginny couldn't be suggesting what Hermione felt the blood draining slowly from her face, Ginny couldn't be suggesting what she thought she was suggesting right?

"Err… I… I don't think that'll be a good idea Ginny."

The girl seemed a little put out at this.

"Why? Oh, come on Hermione! Ron is more than ready to accept that he loves you; he just needs a little help. Aren't you happy that he finally decided to stop being a child and make things right? You two could officially be a couple from now on! It would be great!"

"… yeah… yeah, great…" _'Oh my God! What am I going to do?'_ Hermione was suddenly in a panic, Ginny looked at her curiously.

"What's the matter Hermione?" The red-haired girl was worried now, she didn't get the happiness she had been expecting, Hermione tried to get past the lump in her throat and sighed.

"Look Ginny, I don't think it would work"

"What? Why?"

"You see, I like Ron, I suppose you can say I even love him and Harry too, but I don't think it is a lover's love. They're my bests friends, and frankly I don't think being a couple is e a good idea, at least not right now, I can't picture myself being a girlfriend."

Ginny looked at her for a moment as if suddenly she had grown horns and spitted fire, then she seemed almost annoyed.

"What are you talking about? Of course you love him Hermione! I have seen you two for years and I'm tired of seeing only a lot of teasing! Hermione, it's clear that you are meant for each other!"

"But, Ginny…"

"No! Listen to me! You are only confused because of the great pressure you always put on yourself. Last year we hardly got to see you during our free time!"

'_Oh, so you noticed'_ thought Hermione with a bit of resentment, Ginny continued.

"And I admit that my brother's behavior and his way of showing his feelings are really poor, and need a lot of work. He's been childish but he really wants to make things right. I know you two would work just fine, mother thinks so, too."

Hermione looked at her friend and reckoned that it would be useless to argue with her.

"Maybe Ginny, but not now, I don't think I need a serious relationship right now."

"Oh, come on Hermione! It would do you a lot of good to be with the one you love!"

"That's just the thing Ginny. I'm not sure I love anyone right now." Hermione said, while the image of a certain blond appeared in her brain, she shook her head, denying it for the moment and proceeded to get ready for breakfast, while listening to Ginny's reasons of why she should be deeply in love with Ron.

* * *

Breakfast could have been uneventful if not for the shocking news in the Daily Prophet, there were two massive attacks, one to a muggle village that was utterly devastated and other to the building that had been used as the Ministry's provisional Headquarters. Long lists of dead had been published and not one of the Death Eaters had been captured. Fortunately none of the Weasleys had been killed. Panic was now general and many parents had already contacted the Headmaster, asking for their children to be sent back home. The security in the castle would be increased; no more trips to Hogsmeade and all secret passages going out of the school had been physically or magically closed. The fear among the students was palpable and Dumbledore had urged them to stay calm and trust in Hogwarts safety, also reminding them to give special effort towards unity. 

Hermione went through her lessons in a daze; it was as though she was considering for the first time the real destructive potential of this war, which she had not yet experienced directly. She was worried, but at the same time confident they could win. She had faith in Harry, he was a really powerful wizard and she was sure he would win. She had faith in Harry, he was really a powerful wizard and she was sure he would win. The Order would help him, and his friends would help him too, together they would give the Death Eaters a good fight. They would win; she had no doubt of it. What worried her were the many losses they would have to pay, her mind drifting once and again to Malfoy and his own certainty that death was the best choice one could have. How many actually thought like him? And how many followed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in fear for their lives? Could they be convinced of the contrary? More important to her: Could she convince Malfoy that there was still hope? She was willing to try, even if she and Malfoy went their separate ways after all was over and they didn't see each other ever again, she would be happy knowing that he was alive and well.

She ached to see him, to ask what was happening in his House, to see if he was still willing to meet her.

'_Maybe he didn't open the box'_

This and other somber thoughts were playing in her head over and over again, while she walked the corridors between classes, listening to Harry's complaints about Dumbledore not letting him participate in the defenses they were establishing for the school, and Ron's ideas for emergency plans.

It was a really dull and sad day; the trio ended it in the library after classes were finished, the boys putting little effort in doing their homework and Hermione just feeling grumpy. When they were finally tired of looking at the books without paying any attention to them, Harry had stood and said he was going to return to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione had seen Ron's intentions of stay behind with her and she quickly looked for an escape route, thankfully spotting a seventh year Hufflepuff that was her working partner in Ancient Runes. She hurriedly moved to sit with the girl, telling both her friends that she had to ask a few questions about the last class assignment and that she'll catch up with them at dinner. Both boys left, Ron a little upset and Harry eyeing her suspiciously.

* * *

Some time later she walked to Gryffindor Tower thinking. She was a little sad. She had realized that, even though she missed Malfoy a lot, they really didn't get to know each other and all they shared was the sex. It had been ok for the moment, both had agreed to it, but the few glimpses that Malfoy had let slip in their pillow talk and at odd moments of calmness between them, made her want to know more about him. He was smart and powerful, and it was obvious to her that he didn't share his father's beliefs. She missed his sarcastic comments and their brief discussions of some classes. They were enemies no more, but he was unwilling to make it known to the world, he had said it would be safer that way, and she had agreed to it, but still she wanted more. 

She was debating whether she should risk going to the dungeons looking for him or wait for their shared potions class the next day, when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty classroom, she heard the door being closed as she was pushed to a wall and looked into familiar grey eyes. She blinked in surprise and Malfoy smirked at her, raising his right arm to show her a tiny piece of parchment.

"Exactly what is the meaning of this Granger?"

The girl smiled, recognizing the little note, she let her school bag fall, and without further advice she launched herself at Malfoy, her arms surrounding his neck, her lips kissing his hungrily. The boy had not been expecting an answer so graphic, and the speed and force of her jump took him by surprise, making him retreat two steps, he tripped with his own school bag and fell backwards, taking Hermione with him and barely missed hitting his head on a bench. He remained flat on his back with the girl over him for a few moments. She was still kissing him, as if falling to the floor while doing it was completely normal. When he realized she wouldn't let go of him, he took hold of her waist and gaining leverage he rolled them both over, so that he was now over her. All the things he had planned to tell her, in order to convince them both that continuing with this was a very bad idea, completely forgotten.

They didn't break the kiss until they needed to breathe. Malfoy lifted himself a little, trying to support his weight on his right arm, and looked at her directly in the eyes.

"Merlin Granger! You are a desperate and sick woman. You know that?"

Hermione chuckled and one of her fingers caressed Malfoy's swollen lips.

"I thought that had been clear since the first time we met."

Malfoy nearly asked 'Which first time?' but he stopped himself on time. Hermione got her face a little closer.

"So" she said "Did you miss me?"

"No" said Malfoy nonchalantly, his left hand playing with Hermione's hair, the lie evident in his eyes, Granger's face made a pout.

"Oh, too bad… I did miss you." And she pulled him again into another kiss.

Malfoy let himself get lost in her mouth, then he started to trail kisses along her jaw to nip at her ear, breathing in her hair.

"Of course you missed me. You can hardly compare me with any of those insipid Gryffindors you call friends."

"Oh, and you didn't miss me because you have hundreds of interesting girls behind you right?" Hermione knew they were starting a short round of mock bickering, but she wanted it, she missed that too. Strangely enough he followed her along the way she wanted the 'conversation' to go.

"Exactly!"

Hermione pushed him at arms length and tried to disentangle herself from him, he did everything possible to prevent her from standing, but finally them both were on their feet, holding each others arms, she realized the state of her clothes and frowned, immediately arranging herself. He was still smirking.

"You're impossible Malfoy!"

"And you are a nut case Granger."

"That's what I get for entangling myself with a pureblooded prat!" she said while trying to make her hair into some semblance of order, which was nearly impossible. Malfoy crossed his arms and assumed an offended posture.

"What? I'm not good enough for the know-it-all mudblood?"

The word was out of his mouth before he realized it and he bitted the inside of his lip, holding his breath while he waited for her reaction. For his utter surprise she didn't seem upset or angry, just slightly annoyed. The frown deep in her face.

"Why are you still using that word? It's offensive. And I know it doesn't mean anything to you anymore."

Malfoy was at a loss of words, he had almost been expecting a blow from her. He said the first thing that came to mind.

"Well, old habits die hard. You should know that."

"And what exactly that is supposed to mean Draco Malfoy?" She said, smiling again despite herself and with her hands firmly on her hips.

Malfoy, still with his arms crossed, opened his mouth to answer when the door was slammed open and a loud "Stupefy!" was heard. Hermione saw Draco's eyes widen in surprise a fraction of a second before the hex actually hit him and then he fell in a heap to the floor. Hermione looked almost in horror at Harry and Ron, who were hurrying to her.

"Hermione, are you alright? He didn't hurt you, right?" Harry was worriedly hovering over her, his wand still in his hand. Hermione realized she had taken out hers in reflex. Ron was looking at Malfoy with hate. He kicked the side of the unmoving body with all his might. Hermione immediately got angry with him.

"Ron! What the hell are you doing!" She walked past a shocked Harry and pointed her wand to Malfoy's still figure. "Enervate!"

Malfoy gasped and stirred, holding his right side and turning angry eyes to his aggressors. He was confronted with the sight of an angry Gryffindor girl and two open mouthed idiots. He would have enjoyed it more if not for the pain and the fact that he was utterly pissed off with himself for having completely forgotten that winter break was over and that they weren't practically alone in the big castle anymore. He stood and growled at Ron.

"Weasley! Are you incapable of keeping your nose away from other people's business!"

The red headed boy instantly turned angry eyes at him, apparently ready to start a fist fight.

"Hermione is MY business!"

"What!" A disbelieving squeak was barely heard.

"And you bloody bastard were threatening her!"

Malfoy actually did a quick mental scan of his position and posture at the moment he had been hexed, trying to pin point something that could have been interpreted as threatening to the girl, finally deciding that Weasley was just being his usual idiotic self. He opened his mouth to tell the prat just what he thought of him, but Granger beat him to it.

"What the hell are you talking about Ron! Since when am I YOUR business!" You two are out of your minds! You know that?"

Two pairs of shocked eyes and one pair of amused ones turned to her. Potter recovered in a matter of seconds.

"Hermione! He was trying to hurt you!" The girl had the annoying idea that they had already had this conversation and that only made her angrier.

"Hurt me? Harry, tell me exactly why you suppose he wants to, or was about to hurt me?"

"What? He…!" Harry turned bewildered eyes to Malfoy and then back to Hermione, at a complete loss of what was happening. Ron answered for him.

"Because He Is Malfoy, Hermione! Malfoy! You surely remember him? The boy that has been insulting you for the past six years!"

"I don't recall having had the opportunity to do it the last year" said Malfoy, now starting to enjoy himself. Ron rounded on him.

"Shut up you bastard! What have you done to her!"

Malfoy turned his eyes to the now very frustrated girl, and mockingly scanned her.

"Why? You think I'm responsible of the way she looks? In case you haven't noticed she has always had the look like of second hand doll."

"You son of a bitch! If you ever dare to get near to her or try to touch her you're gonna be very sorry!"

"What? You think I'll want to dirty my hands with a mudblood?"

Hermione paled visibly, Malfoy ignored her and turned to be face to face with Potter, who was giving him an angry hiss.

"Shut up Malfoy! Don't you dare talk about her like that! What did you threaten her with?"

"For the last time Harry." Said Hermione, recovering her exasperation. "He was not threatening me!"

"I don't believe it! I know you Hermione and you wouldn't willingly talk with this prat alone in a classroom! You wouldn't even be in his proximity more than strictly necessary, unless you were forced to! And you have been in here for more than five minutes before we arrived!"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. How could Potter had possible known that? Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at her friend.

"How do you know…?" She interrupted herself, eyes darkening in comprehension. _'The map. That stupid map!'_

"You two were spying me?" she said dangerously. Harry immediately backed a step.

"No! Of course not! Only you were taking a lot of time in returning and…" he momentarily turned to glare at Malfoy, who was following the exchange with much more interest than he was letting them see. Harry continued "We only wanted to see where you were, and we came looking for you."

Ron got into the conversation, putting himself in front of the girl.

"Yes Hermione! I know you are a prefect, but you mustn't go along the Halls alone! Whatever this shit had told you, you can trust us!"

"Oh, for God's sake! Just stop it already!"

"No!" said Harry again. "If he was not trying to hurt you, then what were you doing here with him Hermione?"

Hermione wanted to strangle them both, fortunately she remembered something she could use to get out of this discussion.

"Fine! If you must know, I was looking for him!"

"What!"

"What for!"

Both Gryffindor boys looked at her incredulously, Malfoy tensed and looked at her with a somber expression, she ignored him and continued.

"In case you have forgotten, all the teachers had been giving us different projects that we are supposed to do with students of different houses."

Malfoy's face didn't change much, but he relaxed visibly, seeing where she was going. Potter bitted his lower lip, not happy at all with what he was suspecting. Ron was the only one clueless.

"What does it have to do with him? That's homework, and you and Harry haven't had Potions yet."

"Yes Ron, if you remember Malfoy and I also had Arithmancy together, and Professor Vector sorted us in pairs."

"So?" said Ron, still not seeing it, Harry's worry deepened.

"So, as Malfoy missed Arithmancy's last class, and I was the only one without a partner, Professor Vector said that we have to work together."

"WHAT!"

"And I was looking for him because I want to get an agreement over the subject we are going to work on."

Harry turned around in distress; Ron stared at Hermione in openmouthed disbelief. Malfoy adopted his pose of superiority again, trademark smirk firmly on place. Potter was not satisfied yet.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to make my activities known to you!"

"Hermione!" Harry was short to fling his arms in desperation.

"Calm down Harry! Ok, maybe I should have warned you, but frankly I had forgotten about it, and while I was talking with Azuka in the library I realized that I had to talk with Malfoy too. I just found him before reaching Gryffindor tower, that's all."

Harry sighed in defeat and turned to confront Malfoy again, intent on making it clear that he was not going to leave Hermione alone with his nemesis, but he hadn't done more than open his mouth when Weasley finally regained his voice.

"Is your professor mad? I don't believe she could pair you with this git! Why didn't you tell her what kind of shit he is?"

"Ron!"

"What's happening here?" A girl's voice could be heard from the doorway, every one turned to find Millicent Bulstrode, Ron was in no mood to be interrupted.

"None of your business! Sod off!"

"Ron! Would you calm down?"

Millicent arched a brow at them and then got sight of Malfoy, she immediately directed her attention to him.

"Draco, I've been looking for you. Professor Snape wants to talk to you."

Malfoy didn't seem too happy at the announcement, but he retrieved his school bag and walked to the door nonetheless.

"Well, it certainly has been fun to be here, but I have better things to do. I unfortunately will be seeing you later Granger. Try to teach these two morons better manners."

He walked past them, almost reaching the door, when Potter decided to follow him.

"Wait a minute Malfoy."

The boy reached up and grabbed the blonde's left wrist, trying to pull him. Malfoy's vision darkened around the edges, he didn't even stop to drop his school bag, his reaction was immediate. He turned sharply, his right fist already in the air. It hit squarely between Potter's eyes, taking the brunette by surprise and sending him sprawling to the floor.

Draco barely heard Weasley's swears and Bulstrode hexing the red headed boy, he didn't register any movement around him; for a few seconds his world consisted solely of the pain radiating from his left arm. He tried hard to collect himself and focused on Bulstrode's and Weasley's shouts, after a few moments he felt his breath returning to him, he straightened himself and hissed at Harry.

"Don't you ever dare touch me again Potter! Let's go Milli."

He turned and left as fast as he could, Bulstrode on his heels, leaving behind a bloodied and shocked Boy-who-lived, an irate red head, and a confused and worried Hermione. Malfoy gritted his teeth, thinking how he was going to wipe the floor with Marshall as soon as he got his hands on the bastard.

* * *

Hermione fell into her bed, utterly exhausted. After she made the counter course for Bulstrode's jelly legs jinx on Ron, and they had taken Harry to the Hospital wing to fix his nose, they had gone straight to see Dumbledore. Harry and Ron were sure that they now had proof that Malfoy had taken the Dark Mark and there had been no power in the world that could convince them otherwise. So they were utterly disappointed when the Headmaster had not taken their accusations seriously, claiming that he knew how Malfoy had gotten his left wrist hurt, and that it had nothing to do with the Dark Mark. 

The boys were now angry at Dumbledore for being so blind, and at Hermione for not having supported them, but she was beyond caring this time, she had already known that Malfoy hadn't got the Dark Mark, and she was more worried over how he could have been hurt and if it had anything to do with his two days in the hospital wing.

She sighed, looking at the canopy of her bed, wondering if she would have time to meet Malfoy alone the next day. A noise in her window took her out of her thoughts, she turned and saw an eagle owl taping the glass. She stood and let the bird in, immediately taking the note attached to its leg.

'_Tomorrow 11:00pm.'_

She wrote a brief _'Ok'_ in the reverse of the note and sent the owl flying again. She went to bed thinking how she could get Malfoy to answer her questions, and what she was going to do to rid herself of the Marauder's map.


	9. Night talk

Beta'ed by: Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**WARNING:** I'm not entirely sure of the rating of this chapter, it has an explicit sex scene in it, which has been edited from its original text, still I don't know if it can be considered R, so if you think that I surpassed the rating please tell me.

**

* * *

Chapter 09 Night talk.**

Potions lessons suffered a few changes that affected some Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's schedules. As Professor Snape accepted few students to Advanced Potions lessons, he apparently decided that he could get all the seventh years in one group instead of two; the Ravenclaws were pretty annoyed that Dumbledore had allowed such a change in the schedules at middle term, they couldn't stop bickering that the Slytherins were unaffected by it. True, the Gryffindors had had no problems either, but all the school knew that was only because they were lucky enough to have already been sharing the potions class with the Slytherins, although Harry wouldn't have called it lucky, just a necessary annoyance.

The "new" group was arranging itself in the classroom, leaving the two Slytherins attending in the front, Draco and Blaise took their seats and proceeded to ignore the rest of the students, four Ravenclaws followed, three girls and a boy, Malfoy couldn't help noticing that Marshall was not one of them; Mcmillan and another girl were beside the Ravenclaws, and the three Gryffindors were behind. Snape looked at them and ordered the Gryffindors to move to the other table in the front row, next to the Slytherins; Harry, Hermione and Parvati didn't look too happy with that, but they complied.

Harry was still annoyed with Hermione, but they were talking again, he still felt worried for her. He was in Advanced Potions only because Dumbledore had pressed for it, and Snape preferred to teach him in a class context rather than giving him special lessons. Harry still couldn't see why the Headmaster insisted so much in him taking Potions, but now he was glad he did it. He had the suspicion that Hermione had made her mission of the year to make them see that people could change, which wouldn't be so bad, if the person she had elected for her demonstration hadn't been bloody Malfoy! Why she always had to pick the most unfortunate crusades was beyond Harry's comprehension. He was starting to believe that Hermione wasn't happy if she didn't have something to prove, but he wasn't letting her get hurt with this one. He was going to keep an eye on her and he and Ron were going to be present every day she and Malfoy worked on their Arithmancy project.

Fortunately there were no more classes she shared with the blond Slytherin, and he doubted that Snape would give them homework to do in pairs, he was adamant about the students earning their grades with their own effort.

For now, the entire class was waiting to see what the potions master wanted them to do for the lesson, Snape gave a final look at them all, assuring himself that only two Slytherins were missing, he pressed his lips in annoyance at this loss and started his lesson.

"As you all well know, Headmaster Dumbledore asked that every teacher in this school contribute on _'Unifying the Houses'_"

Malfoy smirked contemptuously, Harry threw him and Snape annoyed glares.

"I personally think it is a waste of time, but, as we all are committed to it, we can very well make something interesting."

Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion, out of the corner of his eyes he saw Malfoy doing the same, and Hermione smiling, already waiting for the new project to be thrown to them.

"So, we are going to make a special assignment that would need the participation of the entire group, I want every one of you working along with the others in this. No exceptions."

Harry was openmouthed. Snape was actually supporting group work? As the rest of the students were digesting the news, the professor continued.

"We are going to make a very special work, you are going to research and make varieties of a potion called _Phoenix breath_."

Some eyes widened at this announcement, Hermione's gasp of surprise and delight told Harry that this was going to be very hard work.

"As some of you know, the Phoenix breath is a powerful potion and very difficult to make, if brewed correctly and with the exact amounts of ingredients, it can cure any wound or pain you have, some people even say that it can raise the dead."

Harry's eyes widened, that sounded like a useful and complicated potion.

"I want you to research this potion, everything that has been written, done, experimented and tested about it. I want a report with everything this potion is supposed to do, and the reason why it can or can't do it, I want each of you to brew at least one cauldron of the different variations of this potion, with the specific information of what properties it takes from the original, and, why it's nearly impossible to brew a perfect Phoenix breath."

Well, it really was a lot of work, the entire classroom were already taking notes on what they would have to do. After that, Snape made it clear that it was an after class assignment and proceeded to give the day's lesson.

* * *

Harry was in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He had mountains of homework and extra lessons with Dumbledore. The Headmaster himself was helping him train so his magic could grow stronger. It was useful but very tiring.

To make things worse, Ron was pretty pissed off at Hermione for her attitude. It was not only her recent conviction that Malfoy had somewhat ceased to be the annoying, spoiled bastard that he always had been. For Harry's shame he had had to accept that Malfoy hadn't done anything of real importance to them since fifth year. But Ron had started to notice that Hermione wasn't the same either, she was avoiding him, whenever Harry wanted to leave them both alone, she always found another thing to do or another place to go.

Ginny had told them that maybe Hermione was depressed and greatly confused, and that Ron should be doing something to cheer her up. Harry could not still grasp the concept of Hermione being confused, besides, what was there to be confused about? And how was Ron supposed to cheer her up, if she practically ran from him?

The last drop was at dinner, when Hermione sat between Harry and Lavender, instead of her usual place between Harry and Ron or beside Ron, and she talked with Lavender the entire time she was at the table. When Granger excused herself and stood to leave early, Ron offered to accompany her to the common room, and she plainly refused, saying that she had to see Professor McGonagall and that she would probably go straight to bed after that, and she left, leaving Ron in a bad mood.

"Hell! What did I do this time? Mate, have you any idea of why she's angry with me?"

"I don't think she's really angry Ron, but I don't know what's gotten into her either."

Ginny approached them at that point.

"Ron! What the hell did you put in that letter you wrote her on Christmas? She's been freaked out since then!"

"I wrote what you told me to! She was supposed to want to talk with me!"

"And why hadn't you spent more time with her? You should have told her about your feelings and your plans the moment we arrived!"

"And how I'm supposed to do it if she barely lets me get two meters near her!"

"Well, you must have done something inappropriate for her to be avoiding you like this! Are you sure you didn't write anything that could be misunderstood? Maybe she thinks you're not being serious!"

"Geez Ginny! I don't know, sometimes Hermione's mind works too strange for me to follow!"

Harry was deep in thought. Ginny said that Hermione had been avoiding Ron since they returned from The Burrow. What could have happened during winter break to make Hermione wants to put some distance between her friends and herself?

'_No'_ thought Harry _'No, that's not right. It didn't start during winter break. It had started before. It's only now that we're starting to really notice it.'_

Hermione had spent the Holidays in the castle practically alone, but she had wanted to stay behind. She hadn't wanted to go to The Burrow with them. Even before she decided to stay in Hogwarts, she had had the intention of spending Christmas with her parents, not with them. Harry mentally went over the school year. Hermione had been very much like the previous year, spending a lot of time in the library or in her room, saying that there was too much noise in the common room for her to concentrate. Harry tended to agree with Ginny in that their friend had been depressed. She hadn't even gone to the Halloween feast.

Harry frowned in annoyance, he was starting to get the feeling that he had missed something along the way, and that said something was the culprit for Hermione's behavior.

Ginny and Ron were still bickering about the best way for Ron to convince Hermione that his intentions were serious. Harry really doubted that would work. _'In fact, maybe that is precisely the thing Hermione is running from.'_ He thought, and then he decided he must do something about the situation.

"I'll talk with her."

Ginny turned to see him seriously.

"No Harry. It wouldn't do for you to talk to her. Ron's the one who should do it."

"No Ginny, I think that is what Hermione doesn't want. Look, I'm just going to ask her what's happening, maybe she doesn't want Ron to commit to her just now, and maybe she wants to wait until we finish school. I agree she had been acting strange, maybe if I talk with her she'll tell me what's wrong."

"Harry, I have already talked with her, she's a bit confused, that's all. Ron just needs to show her how much they love and need each other and it will all work out fine."

Harry's frown deepened, Ginny was female; how was she not seeing that Hermione's behavior towards Ron had changed long ago?

"Ginny, I really think that Hermione wants to wait. Maybe she's feeling pressured by you two, maybe she'll open a little more if I talk to her."

The Weasley girl crossed her arms stubbornly, but after a while the three of them agreed in that Harry will try to get Hermione to tell him what had her so edgy.

He had to delay the talk for the next day, because when he returned from his meeting with Dumbledore, Hermione had already hid away in her room, and Harry didn't want Ginny to go fetch her, he didn't want to push too far, and anyway, he would have a part of the night to figure out what he was going to tell her.

* * *

Hermione walked along the deserted halls, heading to the dungeons, looking around once in a while to make certain no body would catch her. She had the Marauder's map safely pocketed inside her robes, it hadn't really been a problem to retrieve it, but she didn't want to use it, she felt a bit guilty of practically stealing it, but she was not going to risk her friends finding her whereabouts tonight. She would have to hide it, with a bit of luck it would be sometime before Harry missed it.

She reached the dungeons and made her way to the Medusa statue. It was almost eleven when she got there. She waited and looked around once again; trying to make sure she was alone in the hallway. Finally she took out the ring and opened the secret door, which closed the moment she got through it.

The corridor was once again quiet and still. Suddenly one shadow detached itself from the rest, it approached the statue, where a torch gave light to it, and the form of the potion's master defined itself a little more. The man looked at the place where the secret door should have been, and the phantom of a smile crossed his features.

"Well, well, well. Who could have guessed it?"

And he turned and left. This time the corridor was truly deserted.

* * *

Hermione found Malfoy lying on his stomach on their "improved" bed, a book opened before him, he had his shirt and trousers still on, and was supporting his chin on his right hand. He didn't turn to look at her while she ridded herself of the robe and shoes, he only made a contented moan when she crawled besides him and put her hands on his shoulders, applying a little pressure on them and starting slow circular movements, massaging the muscles. She saw that the book was the Transfiguration text, he must have been doing homework, her eyes wandered to where his school bag was and took notice of a strange object near it.

"A clock, Malfoy?"

"Mmmm…" Malfoy closed the book and put it away, Hermione's hands felt wonderful on his shoulders. "Well, we can't stay here overnight anymore."

"Mph" Hermione sighed in disappointment. Malfoy straightened and sat in the cushions, taking hold of her hips he guided her to sit on his lap, her legs at either side of him, his eyes were now at the same level. He started to free her shirt from the skirt.

"It doesn't matter. We can still have a very good time." His hands touched her skin and he started to move them along her back. "I trust that your annoying so called friends won't interrupt us this time."

Hermione smiled entangling one hand in his hair, he didn't glue it anymore and it was soft to the touch.

"Don't worry, they won't."

"Good."

Malfoy's hands found her bra, and fumbled with it, he leaned into her, nipping at her neck, Hermione sighed in contentment, starting to unbutton his shirt and getting her hands along his chest and upper back. She felt his hands caressing and pressing certain points of her back and his mouth sucking and kissing the juncture of her shoulder and neck, almost getting under the blouse. She moaned and her hands continued exploring his upper body, touching every one of his good defined muscles.

"Malfoy, I want to ask you something."

"…Can't it wait?" he muttered from behind her ear. Hermione sighed, wanting very much to just forget about the world, but her brain wouldn't leave her alone until it had at least some of the answers, so she continued.

"Malfoy, why are we carrying on with this?"

The boy froze for about a second and then let go a somewhat sarcastic laugh.

"Merlin and Circe Granger! That is exactly the question I've been avoiding to ask myself! Can't you just let it go and forget about it?"

"No, I want to know your opinion about this. After all, it's only a holiday affair. But still I want it to go on, I need you, and my head wouldn't leave it alone. I just want to know why you are letting it continue."

"You always have to know the why's and how's of everything Granger?"

"Mmm. Yes."

Malfoy stopped what he was doing and straighten himself to look directly into brown eyes.

"Very funny."

"Oh, please Malfoy. I just want to know your opinion."

"Well, if you want a direct answer. I don't know."

She lifted an eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"Honestly. I don't have any idea of what's gotten into me. I like being with you, that's all. It's against my better judgment, and maybe we should just stop it…"

"No!" She interrupted him, she had thought plenty about it, and she didn't want to stop it. It was Malfoy's turn to arch an eyebrow.

"Look Granger, I very much prefer not to think too much about this, because if I do I'll start to see all the reasons of why this is a very bad idea."

"You didn't think it was bad during the break."

"That was because we were all alone, the Slytherins ignored me and the Gryffindors weren't here to remind us that the rest of the world still existed."

Hermione chuckled and reclined into Malfoy, putting her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder, she felt his left arm snaking around her waist.

"You had to be so rude when they found us yesterday? Or was it because of the kiss Ron almost gave me?"

Malfoy tensed a little, remembering said could be kiss. Hermione smiled to herself.

"Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea? We agreed that no body would know about us not being enemies, remember?"

"I remember, but I was just wondering, how all the school would react if they discovered that we had slept together."

Despite himself, a mischievous smile appeared on his lips at the image. Hermione continued talking.

"Why can't we tell the entire world about what we were doing on winter break Malfoy?" She sighed almost longingly, of course she wouldn't do it and Malfoy knew it, but he answered none the least.

"Because, despite how very much I like the image of Potter dying of a heart attack, that would be an even worse idea than what we are already doing. Unless you have changed your mind and had decided to accompany me in a trip to the Astronomy tower to take flying lessons without a broom."

She straightened again and looked seriously at him.

"I'm not letting you do that."

"Why not? It'll happen sooner or later you know."

"It won't happen Malfoy. And why do you still think it would be dangerous for us to be nice to each other, or even friends in the open?"

"Because Granger, I don't mind a bunch of idiotic followers of the Dark Lord, trying to kill me, if they do it right, but I was under the impression that you still wanted to live a little longer."

Hermione paled a little, she had managed to unbutton Malfoy's shirt and now she tried to remove it, looking for the boy's left arm. She revealed the bandage and scowled.

"Someone tried to kill you!" She was really shocked; she hadn't really imagined it could be that serious.

"Not exactly, as I said, they're idiots. Ow! Watch it! It's still tender!"

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, trying not to poke at Malfoy's wrist. "Now Harry and Ron are sure you got the Dark Mark, all because of this. What happened?"

"Really? Good, let them have their little dream. And as for what happened, well, I was in contact with a potion that is supposed to melt skin and leave a very nasty wound, as it was bad brewed, it became poisonous and was killing my muscle cells, nearly gave me a heart attack."

Hermione looked at him openmouthed.

"Are you telling me you could have died from this?"

"The worst part was to wake up in the hospital wing, and discover that I wasn't dead after all, and that all my body seemed to be burning."

"Malfoy! Did you tell the Headmaster who did this!"

"I really wasn't in any condition to do it. Blaise reported it as a prank. It's really no good to tell what it really was, you have no way to know when the next blow is going to come."

"But you must tell Dumbledore who did it! I had believed that all You-Know-Who's followers had left Hogwarts!"

"Not all of them, only the majority of the Slytherins." Hermione frowned and Malfoy smirked at her.

"Come on Granger! Don't tell me you believed that shit that the Dark Lord's supporters are only Slytherins."

She crossed her arms in annoyance and eyed him seriously.

"You know who they are?"

"I have an idea. And two sure ones."

"… Crabbe?"

Draco eyed her and smirked again.

"You're too smart for your own good Granger."

She blushed and suddenly embraced his neck and kissed him, he took the opportunity to return to his earlier task of getting rid of her shirt and bra.

"Why don't you tell the Headmaster?"

"It would be no use, besides, I have the impression that he already knows on which ground everyone in this school stand." _'Save perhaps professor Snape's.'_ He thought privately, his loyalty to his uncle still was one of the things preventing him to trust Dumbledore. Hermione didn't say more, she silently agreed with him in that the Headmaster knew everything that happened in the student's minds, that thought unsettled her a little, but she drowned it deepening the kiss to Malfoy's mouth, her mind was still dealing with the fact that Draco could have been dead by now, she had felt fear coiling inside her at the thought, and her body desperately wanted to touch him, to be reassured that he was still there.

Draco's hand fumbled with the waist band of her skirt, and finally changed tactics and simply went under it to touch her buttocks through the fabric of her panties, she moaned in his mouth, moving her hands to pinch at his nipples, his mouth moved at her neck again and she started to nip at his ear, he took a moment to breath and said:

"So, after this awkward conversation, are we still going to have sex?"

She moved one hand to press into his erection, making him moan.

"Nnnn… I suppose that's a yes…"

He was shirtless and she was not, he catalogued that as unfair and proceeded to discard her blouse and bra, then she pressed onto him, her mouth sucking a certain spot behind his ear, his right hand went again under her skirt, caressing and pressing until he found the right place between her thighs that made her moan, he started to rub it, feeling how her panties became wetter slowly. Hermione's hand was stroking his confined erection at a slow rate, suddenly the few clothes they still had on were highly uncomfortable and they had to move in order to get rid of them.

Once both of them were naked, Malfoy got his hands on Hermione's breasts and started circular motions around her nipples, the girl's hands in return started massaging his flanks, moving slowly to his chest, he got one hand on the back of her neck and leaned in for a hungry kiss, their tongues battling and exploring each others' mouths, she pushed him into the assortment of blankets and she laid on top of him. Malfoy let her, and moved his right hand to tease at her entrance, his left hand firmly entangled in her hair.

Hermione moved her hips, rubbing herself against Draco's hand, the movement made her lower stomach to do a little friction with his cock and he moaned in her mouth, his hand moving, pressing and working her in the way she liked, encouraging further movement on her part, she pressed herself onto him, their bodies rubbing each other, almost as if they wanted to merge, their kisses only allowing enough pause to breathe.

Soon one of her hands started to toy with one of his nipples and the other found its way to his erection, starting to stroke it, Malfoy groaned and the hand stimulating her started to move in accord with her strokes, eventually inserting two fingers into her without stopping massaging the nub of the clitoris, Hermione's thumb rubbed the point of Draco's manhood and started stroking it faster, they were gasping and moaning in each other's mouths, barely breathing. Soon Hermione felt the tickle of her orgasm building and reaching its peak, and moaned her release loudly in Malfoy's mouth, his own orgasm followed shortly, and they were left panting in the blankets.

Hermione didn't move from her position above him, and he didn't really want her to, he kissed her right temple and started soft caresses to her body, she started exploring his torso with her hands, the stimulation arousing him again while she prodded at all the right places. They enjoyed the mutual tease for a while longer and then she moved to kneel, her legs on either side of him, Malfoy made a movement to change positions, but a hand on his chest stopped him, he laid again on his back and watched as she took hold of his erection and slowly lowered herself on it, feeling as he was being enveloped in her heat to the core.

Once fully seated, Hermione started moving, Malfoy moaned hearing her gasps of pleasure, he took hold of her hips and started moving his own, both of them establishing a rhythm. After a while he moaned loudly and released into her, almost at the same time she came too, screaming his name.

Hermione almost fell on him, but Malfoy supported her and guided her to lay at his side, tucking her in his arms, they stayed that way, still gasping, for a couple of minutes, Draco's hands caressing the soft skin of Hermione, his lips touching her forehead tenderly. After he recovered a little, he started to play with her hair and the touch turned into a soft kiss.

"Heavens. You are a wonderful woman Hermione."

She smiled and tried to bury herself into him. It was the first time he called her by her first name.


	10. Prefect’s duty

Beta'ed by: Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**

* * *

Chapter 10. Prefect's duty.**

Harry was waiting for Hermione in the common room, he still didn't know exactly what to tell her, but he supposed a direct approach was the best. He only wanted to make sure that she was alright, he had already guessed that she didn't want to commit to a serious relationship with Ron, though it would have been nice to see both of them happy together, he wasn't about to convince Hermione to do something she didn't want to.

It was Saturday and Hermione always was one of the few early risers on weekends, so Harry was truly surprised when Ron came downstairs, and the girl had yet to make an appearance. Ron had wanted to wait for her with him, but Harry insisted that he had to talk with Hermione alone; Ron conceded after a while and left for the Great Hall with Seamus and Dean.

Harry was sure breakfast was about to end when Hermione finally appeared, she looked surprised to see him there.

"Oh. Hi Harry. Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes, I was about to try and shout to you." said Harry, approaching his friend and watching her attentively. She didn't seem ill, maybe a little tired, but the sad look that had been in her face the previous days had disappeared.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry. I was pretty tired last night and I overslept a little."

"It's ok Hermione, don't worry."

"Well, shall we go?"

"Mmm. Actually, I want to talk with you."

"Really?" Hermione arched an eyebrow in question, though she had an idea of what Harry wanted to talk about, she hoped it was not about the map that was presently forgotten in the secret room in the dungeons. They both took a seat in the armchairs.

"Um, yes. You know, lately you have seemed a little upset. Something happened?"

Hermione almost sighed in relief; she smiled to her friend and answered.

"Nothing to worry about Harry, really, I've just been doing a lot of thinking."

"Mmm. Something about Ron and his 'proposition'?"

Hermione blushed a little, but answered none the less, for some strange reason she felt more at ease talking to Harry about this than to Ginny.

"Well, actually I had decided that I didn't want to hear his proposition. You see, I like you both being my friends. I really don't want that to change. And I don't know how to tell that to Ron. Ginny kind of freaked out and is totally convinced that I'm confused and that I am deeply in love with her brother. I'm not eager to see how Ron will react if his sister's response is any indication."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Listen, I can talk with Ron and try to ease him, maybe get him into the idea that you both are better of as friends, if you like."

"Oh Harry, that would be helpful, thank you."

"You're welcome 'Mione. Maybe we can still catch the end of breakfast."

"Sure, let's go."

They both stood, and Harry, without thinking twice, did a very Harry-like thing. He hugged Hermione tightly. And this time he felt it. She tensed. It was only a second, and then she relaxed and almost reluctantly returned the hug, but Harry noticed it wasn't as she used to give them, she almost felt insecure. Harry released her and eyed her warily.

"'Mione? What's the matter?"

She blushed and tried to put herself under control.

"What do you mean Harry?"

"You tensed; you never get tense when someone hugs you."

"Oh, it's nothing Harry; you surprised me that's all. Come on! Or we won't have breakfast today!"

Before Harry could open his mouth again, she turned on her heels and left the Gryffindor common room. Harry frowned and followed her. He was really missing something; he hoped it wouldn't turn out to be something really bad.

* * *

Hermione's mood seemed to improve over the next few days, and Harry's worries eased somewhat. Ron wasn't happy when Harry advised him to wait a little more to make an advance with Hermione, let her relax and finish school without other worries. Ginny wasn't happy either, she had expected kisses, hugs, and romance, but eventually Harry managed to get her agree that they mustn't pressure Hermione, she was well capable of handling her own life, and she would know when she wanted to get in a serious relationship.

Hermione was grateful that some of the stress coming from Ron's part had lessened considerably. Both boys returned to leave her to her studies when she wanted to be alone, the only thing they plainly refused was to let her go study with Malfoy alone. It was annoying. For the potions project Harry had to be there anyway, but she was sure that Ron would have stayed in her Arithmancy class if he could. The first time she and Malfoy tried to get started on their project had turned into a shouting match between the blonde Slytherin and the two Gryffindor boys, more exactly, Ron had done an enormous amount of the shouting while the other two engaged themselves mostly in a glaring match. Oddly enough that had resulted in Hermione and Draco starting the project over the blankets of their secret room. Next time they had to meet with the imposing presence of Harry and Ron together, Draco had made sure it was in the library, and he had dragged along Goyle, Zabini and Bulstrode with him, so the Gryffindors were outnumbered and he and Granger could actually get something done.

Ron and Harry soon realized that Malfoy was as addicted as Hermione to get good grades, both boys were horrified to see that, not even the perspective of being stuck with his three most hated Gryffindors, would stop Malfoy from spending hours in the library in said company, if that meant his grades will be outstanding. For Harry it was double torture because of the potions project, and he discovered, to his dismay, that the Ravenclaws were even worse than Malfoy and Hermione together. By the middle of the month, the Boy-Who-Lived was convinced that soon he'd have to ask Dumbledore for a bed in the library, seeing that he seemed to get out of it only for meals, classes and Quidditch practices; he was sure that the Ravenclaws had a secret passage from their tower to the library, and that they would be happy to spend the rest of their lives imbibed in books.

All in all, things seemed to have returned to almost normal. The Daily Prophet continued to report a variety of minor Death Eater's attacks, and the new Minister of Magic had decreed some kind of martial law. The majority of the first and second years from all the Houses were removed from school, but the rest had stayed, some parents, realizing that Hogwarts was a lot safer than their own homes, had even refused their children's petitions to go back to them.

The atmosphere in the castle was still tense, but the absence of the majority of the Slytherins had been somewhat comforting, to the point that many students were convinced that Hogwarts was now positively free of any Dark Lord's supporters; many others still suspected Malfoy and his friends to be the only rotten eggs left. Harry and Ron were among that last category, but much to their disappointment Malfoy so far hadn't done anything for which they could openly point their wands at him, their only "proof" to Malfoy's loyalties was the bandage of his left arm, that sometimes could barely be seen below his shirt, and that the two Gryffindors were sure concealed the Dark Mark, but no one seemed to think their suspicions were important, and that frustrated them to no end.

Draco and Hermione continued their nightly meetings without accidents, and the boy was highly satisfied about that. He had also managed to pay back Marshall for the attack to his person without leaving a single thing that could be traced back to him. So far, he and Granger had achieved a certain routine, which now included a lot of studying in the library, with the added bonus of making Potter's and Weasley's lives miserable without lifting a finger.

Malfoy was aware that his attitude towards the Gryffindor girl had changed in public, it had been subtle, more like civility towards each others, but it was a change nonetheless. Over the month he had received a good amount of suspicious and surprised glances from his housemates, who were the only ones that had registered his and Granger's barely noticeable change; Draco was sure that some of the Slytherins were only waiting for him to make a more friendly move towards the Gryffindors, so they could officially have free rein to start making their own alliances with them. He didn't worry too much about his housemates' surveillance, he was pretty sure that no one suspected the true nature of his recent civility to Granger, which didn't extend to the rest of the golden trio, they were under the impression that he was starting to prove the ground for his own alliances.

Little they know that his actual concerns had nothing to do with alliances, crazy Dark Lords or stupid wars, his only worry was to keep things with Granger the way they were at the moment, and making sure no one suspected them of having anything, not even akin to friendship, and thankfully the covert of Dumbledore's "Unity Project" had proven to be very helpful. It was more for her safety than anything else. He had been thinking things over and had concluded that he actually didn't care if all the school discovered they had been sleeping together, but he had finally acknowledged the fact that he didn't want Granger to get hurt. She still had hope that the Dark Lord would be defeated, and foolish as he saw it, he didn't want her to lose it yet, it was part of what she was, and if they suddenly went and told the world they had a liaison, all the junior death eaters that still were in the school would be after her, hoping to get to him.

It wouldn't matter to them the fact that it was only an affair, based almost entirely in convenience, and that there were no deep emotions involved; they would only want to make clear that anything Draco touched would be in danger, and since the Crabbe incident they realized that they couldn't do a thing to the Slytherins, they'd go for any other prey that seemed more available. Draco wasn't even sure of how many followers of the Dark Lord were still in the school, and those idiotic friends of the bushy haired girl, would never believe that someone not Slytherin could be a dark wizard in disguise until it was too late.

It frustrated Malfoy to no end the fact that Potter was so immersed in catching him doing something suspicious, that he didn't put enough attention to the rest of his fellow students. All of them could be in real danger, Hermione could get hurt in any moment and the stupid fool was focused in petty rivalry!

To make things better, Draco had realized that Granger had suddenly became Hermione in his mind. It was annoying. He had no business thinking about her in first name. It unnerved him that he had started to see her more and more like a real person, instead of the convenient lay she was supposed to be. He didn't want to acknowledge it, but deep inside him he knew he was starting to feel real affection for her. It wasn't right, he tried to deny these new feelings and bury them deep in his mind, but the entire world seemed to be conspiring against him.

It had started with professor Snape, the man had initially been furious over Draco's near death experience, Crabbe had been given permanent detention with his Head of House, and Malfoy suspected that his godfather had something to do with the fact that he could take his revenge from Marshall, who was a Ravenclaw, without further consequences; but Snape had been watching his godson more closely since then, and it was starting to get on Malfoy's nerves.

It had been a surprise when the Potions Master made Malfoy and Granger stay behind after one class, to name them responsible of the potions project advances, and after that the man decided that the class should work mixed, so he put all of them in pairs, making sure that each one had a partner of a different House, somehow Malfoy had ended paired with Granger, much to Blaise's amusement and Potter's wrath. Draco was starting to suspect that his godfather knew something, but he dismissed the thought, if Snape really knew about his affair with Granger, Malfoy was sure that the man would be doing anything within his reach to get them apart from each other, not making them spend more time together.

Also, they had the prefect's meetings, which had been increased due to the recent new security means, and the constant surveillance they had to do over the rest of their schoolmates.

And finally, Weasley seemed determined to get more annoying each day. He just couldn't stop teasing Malfoy about the Dark Mark, it was starting to have the, obviously unwanted, effect of Hermione sitting beside Draco every time they worked in the library, saying that they should make an effort and put an example to the rest of the School, so the other students saw that House Unity could be possible, it was starting to drive Weasley mad.

All things considered, the end of the month caught Draco doing serious thinking about the mess his casual affair was in, but he still didn't want it to end, Hermione was turning out to be the sexiest and most intelligent girl he had ever laid eyes on; he didn't want to give her up, especially when the next available option for her was a Weasley, she deserved better. Malfoy was starting to think that they could have both done pretty well together; it really was a pity that their time was running out fast. Damn the Dark Lord and his useless war.

Draco was thinking about the utter unfairness of the world, while he waited outside of the prefect's meeting room for the rest of the House's prefects to arrive. It was Saturday, and the new security rules specified that Saturday afternoons the prefects should have a meeting with the Heads of House, to give them their reports. Personally Malfoy thought it was useless, but Snape had agreed to it, and as the Slytherin Head boy he had the obligation to support his Head of House and keep his opinions to himself.

So, now there he was, waiting with the rest of the Slytherin prefects for the door of the meeting room to be opened, which would happen when the four Heads of House arrived. So far only Snape and McGonagall were present, neither seemed particularly happy this afternoon, in fact, Draco noticed that McGonagall's lips were pressed so tightly they were practically invisible. He supposed she was annoyed because her precious Gryffindors hadn't arrived yet. Professor Snape was watching the lot of them contemptuously, and avoiding eye contact with the Gryffindor witch. Draco was starting to wonder if something had transpired between them when the Ravenclaws arrived, followed by the Hufflepufs. Professor Flitwick arrived too, and moments later the Gryffindors.

Draco automatically searched for the bushy haired girl, and had to stop himself from going to her. The weasel was at her side as always, not happy at all for having to waste a perfect Saturday afternoon in a meeting, but then, no one really looked forward to these meetings. Granger was rolling her eyes at his behaviour; the girl had always wished that her friend would act a little more mature, at least in front of the school faculty. Draco had said to her earlier in the month that it was clearly impossible for the weasel to be mature. Malfoy smiled to himself, remembering how she had been affronted at his comment, when he noticed the way professor McGonagall was watching him, almost as though she had caught him doing something inappropriate, he straightened himself and looked at her coldly. She huffed and then turned to the two seventh year Gryffindors, and she looked worried. Malfoy arched an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued by this. He turned towards Weasley and Granger, trying to see what had worried their Head of House, when professor Sprout finally arrived and all of them had to enter the meeting room.

The reunion was utterly boring, Malfoy spent it thinking about homework and Quidditch manoeuvres, occasionally sending suggestive glances to Granger, which the girl ignored. It wasn't until the end of the meeting that Malfoy was startled to attention, as he heard his name in McGonagall's voice.

"We have a final announcement. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, this will concern you both."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Gryffindor's Head of House, she had that odd look of worry in her eyes again; this couldn't be good.

"Professor Dumbledore has been pleased to see that our efforts towards House Unity are starting to show results". Many of the prefects smiled at the announcement, those results were mostly homework groups and some new inter-house couples. "And he wishes to give it stronger push."

Malfoy winced, he didn't like the way that sounded; he definitely didn't like the apologetic look McGonagall threw to Hermione.

"So, we are establishing new extracurricular activities, and one of the Head Boys along with one of the Head Girls will be responsible of the organization and implementation of them. That would be Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger; obviously the task would mean that both of you have to take part in said activities, together."

Malfoy could hear the silence around him and he mentally started to count. _One… two…_

"WHAT!"

Weasley's yell of incredulity made McGonagall narrow her eyes; all the Gryffindors were visibly distressed.

"Professor, you can't be serious!"

"Ron!" Granger tried to placate her friend to no avail; Weasley's temper was already up.

"Why him! You can't make Hermione try to get along with that…!"

"Mr. Weasley, that's enough!" McGonagall interrupted the red head's rant with an angry shout, Ron's face was all red, Malfoy smirked at him maliciously and Granger threw him a warning glare. McGonagall tried to continue.

"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger are the top students of the Seventh year, their grades are exceptional, also we hope that seeing them both working as a team would encourage others to do the same, not only in homework or study groups."

"But professor…!"

"Mr. Weasley, I really believe that there should be no problems with the Headmaster's decision." said McGonagall through gritted teeth, clearly warning Ron to shut up. The boy seemed oblivious to it, much to Granger's clear embarrassment.

"I have a problem with it professor! To let Hermione spend time with him would be endangering her!"

"Ron stop!" Hermione was truly worried now; Malfoy could see McGonagall fighting to not agree with her student. All the other prefects were trying very hard to disappear. The Slytherins were starting to put their guards up.

"And why do you think the girl would be in any danger around my student Mr. Weasley?" Said Snape dangerously, McGonagall was trying to stupefy Ron with her glare, but the boy ignored the warning signals.

"Come on! You know why! He's a…! Mmmmph!"

Hermione practically jumped over her friend and silenced him forcefully with a hand over his mouth, she looked at the Slytherins apologetically and then to professor Snape.

"I'm so sorry professor; he's not himself right now. He and Harry had been trying some suspicious candies from his brother's shop. I think they are a little toxic."

"Yeah, as if the stupid boy needed poison to make his brain go any slower." muttered Millicent at Malfoy's side, the Slytherins that heard her smirked in appreciation.

Draco scowled at the red headed boy, and then looked worriedly at Granger, she was blushing with embarrassment but accepted the task professor McGonagall was giving them, much to Weasley's anger. Malfoy could see the Gryffindor was going to have another rant, when his Head of House stopped him; she deducted ten points from Gryffindor and sent him to his common room. Weasley left fuming, and with that the meeting finished, everybody went out, gossiping about the scene they had just witnessed, Malfoy and Granger stayed behind to accompany their Heads of House to the Headmaster's office; Dumbledore would tell them personally what their new duties were and the new activities they'll have to organize.

* * *

Hermione and Draco entered Dumbledore's office followed by professors Snape and McGonagall. The Headmaster gestured for them to take a seat and offered them tea and lemon drops, which they politely declined; Dumbledore smiled and started to get to the point.

"I think that your Heads of House have already told you what this is about."

"Yes sir." Hermione answered, Draco was looking thoughtfully at the Headmaster.

"Excuse me sir, I have to ask you a question. Why us?" Malfoy would never admit it, but he agreed with Weasley in that making him and Hermione work together was dangerous for her; they were bound to start being friendly and attract unwanted attention from some suspicious students and, although they'll be spending an awful lot of time together, they would also be closely watched, and Malfoy didn't like to be watched for. Dumbledore smiled knowingly at him and explained.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm aware that this seems strange, but you know very well that Gryffindor and Slytherin are the two Houses that hold the strongest rivalry against each other, thus they are the ones that we need to join publicly if we want the House Unity project to work fully."

"Yes, but why us? Why not Weasley and Bulstrode?" Even Snape rolled his eyes at that, and Draco pouted. "Ok, that was not very intelligent, but someone of the other years?"

"Mr. Malfoy" This time it was Snape the one who talked. "We both know pretty well how Slytherin House works, and you know they won't follow any lead apart from yours now."

Draco huffed, and looked at Hermione. She was doing her best to not seem happy with the turn of things and was barely succeeding, but Draco could still see her eyes gleam with mirth. He sighed in resignation and listened to Dumbledore's words.

"Good. Now, we have considered a wide variety of different activities, and I want to hear your opinion on them."

They went over numerous activities, both muggle and wizarding alike. McGonagall got a floo call from the hospital wing and had to left after a few minutes, Snape stayed and gave his opinion about some things, and how this development would affect the students' grades.

Finally they agreed about doing a Quidditch group for those that didn't belong to the official House teams; a dance group, a gardening group and to reopen the DA as a dueling club. Dumbledore said he already have talked with Harry Potter to guide the group again, so Draco's job was to make the Slytherins join in it. For the gardening group they were going to get Neville's help; Granger would lead the dance classes and Malfoy the Quidditch.

Hermione tried to get out of the Quidditch group, saying that she was completely hopeless at it, and Malfoy complained at having to be in gardening, but Dumbledore insisted in that he wanted both of them to be active participants of all the groups, even if they weren't guiding them, and the two youngsters had to comply.

"One last thing, we are going to dissolve the House boundaries a little. From now on, starting tomorrow, there will be only one table in the Great Hall in the weekends; it would be nice if you two sit together at it."

It was not a suggestion; Hermione opened her mouth and closed it, not sure if she wanted to object. Malfoy narrowed his eyes; this situation was highly suspicious already. Why them? Draco didn't believe that Dumbledore only wanted to have the Houses united. And how in hell would he manage to keep his hands off Granger, if they were being practically thrown together all the time?

Snape coughed meaningfully to the Headmaster, and the old man's face brightened in a way that nearly gave Draco the scare of his life.

"Oh, yes! We are going to have a ball at the end of the School term, much like a prom for the seventh years, I would like for you two to open the dancing."

Draco could feel his mouth hanging open in astonishment. This wasn't prefect's duty; this man was up to something else! Malfoy turned to see the impassive mask of indifference his uncle had in place, and for a clear moment had the horrid certainty that both professors were together in this.

Hermione was blushing furiously, completely speechless, her first thought was that the Headmaster knew what was happening between her and Draco, but she dismissed it readily; if that were true then they both should have been in deep trouble. It was against the rules to have sex inside the school compound, but then why was the Headmaster trying his best to couple them? Draco felt compelled to say something.

"You can't be serious. I can't go on a date with her!"

"Why not Mr. Malfoy?"

"Because she… I…!" Draco was at a loss of words, for a moment he thought about calling her a mudblood, but that would be getting into more trouble with the Headmaster. Hermione came to his rescue, seeing that he was still shocked.

"Malfoy and I don't get along too well Headmaster. It would be a miracle if we manage to work together in the group organizations without killing each other."

"My thoughts exactly." Said Draco, awfully relieved, Dumbledore however wasn't about to give up.

"It doesn't have to be a date; you only have to open the dance, as a symbol of peace and unity."

Nothing they said could have changed the Headmaster's mind, so they resigned themselves to their doom and Dumbledore dismissed them happily.

As soon as they were outside the door and the revolving stairs started to carry them down, Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Well, at least he's not making us live together. Almost."

"Mmph" Malfoy had narrowed his eyes, clearly not liking the situation at all.

"What do you think Draco?"

"I have the impression that we are being set up, but I can't phantom why."

"I don't think professor Dumbledore has reason to do it."

"Please Hermione! The man is a manipulative bastard!"

"Draco! Don't call him that!"

"But he is! I don't know why he's doing it, but I know he's hopping to stick us together, and he must have a reason to do it."

"You think like a Slytherin, but not all people has to have a hidden motive to do something"

"I'm totally convinced of the contrary." They noticed that they were almost down; they could see the secret door already opening to let them out.

"We should talk about this later."

"Tonight?" asked Hermione hopefully.

"Yes. Meanwhile, I'd let you break the news."

"Break the news? To whom?"

They were getting out to the corridor, and Malfoy gestured in front of them at two worried looking Gryffindors.

"Them."

"Hermione!"

Harry and Ron immediately surrounded their friend, pulling her apart from Malfoy. Ron was still pretty pissed off and he started ranting.

"Tell me you made him see reason Hermione! Tell me Dumbledore isn't making you work with the ferret!"

"Ron! Would you calm down? Please?" Granger was a little embarrassed, she didn't want to tell them everything, especially the part of the dance, she believed Ron was capable of getting into the Headmaster's office and yell at the professor. Harry was glaring at Malfoy, but he turned to look at his friend and asked her,

"Hermione, then it's true what Ron told me? Dumbledore wants you both to work together at some crazy thing?"

"How very specific of you Potter" snarled Malfoy, Ron wanted to strangle him.

"Shut up ferret!"

"Ron, don't make a scene here! We're outside of the Headmaster's office! And it's not some crazy thing Harry; it's the organization of some extracurricular activities, to encourage inter house friendships."

"But why does it have to be you and him?"

"I asked that same question Potter; the answer was not very encouraging."

Harry ignored Malfoy and kept watching Hermione, the girl sighed and answered what she suspected was an excuse from Dumbledore's part.

"Because we are the top Seventh year students and…"

"But Hermione he's Malfoy and he's a Slytherin!" Ron interrupted her, clearly frustrated.

"How very observant of you Weasley." Malfoy said in sarcasm, Ron glared daggers at him, and Hermione started to feel frustrated herself.

"Please, could we at least try to be civil? If you let me finish Ron, I was about to say that, what we are, it's precisely the reason why professor Dumbledore wants the two of us to be together in this."

"What?" said Harry, a little confused. "Because he's Malfoy and a Slytherin and you are…?"

"Hermione Granger and a Gryffindor, yes Harry." Said Hermione looking at him calmly. The look in Harry's eyes changed as he pondered the implications of this. Ron looked them both with a frown on his face.

"What? I don't get it. What does it have to do with this mess?"

Hermione looked at him with tired eyes, and Malfoy sighed in exasperation.

"Merlin! Why did I think there were other options apart from me?"

Ron was about to make a rude comment, but Harry talked first.

"You don't seem to have made much effort to get yourself out of this Malfoy. Why are you agreeing with it?"

"Look Potter, I did voice my objections, especially to the gardening thing and… some other activities, but it's not as if the old coot really gave me a choice in the matter. In fact he was very… insistent, in some odd kind of way about it." Malfoy carefully avoided mentioning the new table arrangements or the dance; he wasn't in the mood for more of Weasley's anger. The red haired boy made a disgusted face.

"Gardening? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You are going to do gardening Malfoy?" said Harry, disbelievingly.

"Don't laugh too soon Potter. You are going to see me at that DA club of yours also."

"What!" Ron was sounding closer to desperation; Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him from putting his hands on Malfoy.

"I'll let Granger explain it to you weasel. I'm not in the mood to threat with dumb heads like you. Excuse me."

Malfoy turned away from them and started to retreat. Harry glared at his back, silently fuming and cursing himself for not having suspected that Dumbledore wanted to make the Slytherins join the DA. Ron was in near shock.

"Will somebody explain to me what is happening!"

"Come on Ron, I'll explain it to you in our way to the common room."

And the three friends walked together to Gryffindor tower, to do some homework while they waited for dinner time.

* * *

As soon as Hermione and Draco left the office, Dumbledore sighed and looked at the Potion's Master; he was pleased at the meeting's results, even if the two youngsters were in total denial of what they felt for each other, which had been clear like water to the Headmaster's accurate eyes.

"Well Severus, it seems you were right, this could be a huge advantage to us, if we handle it carefully."

"Yes, if Mr. Malfoy indeed changes his alliances, and we manage to get rid of Malfoy senior."

"I don't think young Mr. Malfoy would be a problem, they really do look well together." said Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling joyfully.

"Mmph. It's still a delicate matter, I know they're having an affair, I've seen them. But the boy is known to have meaningless affairs too often. This could simply be a pastime."

"Oh, no Severus, I really doubt it. It's serious. However, they don't seem to know it yet. I think a little push would be very useful for them. And don't forget we need him."

"There are many powerful wizards that would aid Potter in his task."

"Yes, but none of them is a Malfoy. And you know how important names are in our society, mostly in politics. However foolish it is, that is the way of things now. If Voldemort looses Malfoy's support he will automatically loose any chance he has to turn the pureblooded wizards that are still neutral, to his side, and many of the half-bloods. He might even loose some of his followers. Malfoy is a powerful name Severus, and we need as many supporters as we can achieve; we must have him with us."

"Then, perhaps we have to make things go faster?" Said Snape, arching an eyebrow, Dumbledore smiled to him.

"No, it won't be necessary. I'm confident that, with what we've already done, they will work it out by themselves. We must focus on other pressing matters, and on Malfoy senior."

"If you say so." Severus seemed unconcerned, but Dumbledore knew that he will be watching over his godson; the Headmaster smiled again.

"Of course Severus, don't worry yourself. Tea?"


	11. Sunday’s breakfast

Beta'ed by: Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**Chapter 11 Sunday's breakfast.**

Hermione was toying with Malfoy's bandage on his left arm, she already had taken it off up to middle arm and was stroking the scar that was exposed, he let her only because he just had a wonderful orgasm and was too overwhelmed to stop her.

"Why are you still using the bandage? It doesn't hurt anymore and is mostly white."

"But it looks awful! I hate to have scars! Besides, it's funny to see Potter trying to look through it."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and changed the topic.

"So, are we going to ignore each other while we try to work together?" she said playfully.

Draco had transfigured the arranged blankets and cushions into a real bed, and they were laying lazily in each others arms. Hermione hadn't managed to convince him that professor Dumbledore had no ulterior motives for pairing them together, but he was tired and in no mood to think about what Dumbledore could gain from their relationship.

He was playing with Granger's hair and tracing patterns on her arm with one finger, he still didn't know what he was going to do, he was becoming really possessive of her, he had already lashed at Potter once or twice because the boy had hugged her, if they were going to spend even more time together something in their arrangement would have to change, and he wasn't sure he'd like that to happen.

"We have been doing it well so far, if we're careful and don't start calling each other by our given names; everybody would think that we are being polite."

"Sure, if you manage not to yell at Harry for no particular reason when he is friendly with me."

"What are you implying Granger?"

"Nothing"

Draco didn't believe her; he stopped his finger's motion over her skin and sat up, turning to her.

"Look Granger, we have nothing here, apart from very good sex, and it's never going to be anything more than that."

"I know that! It's not me the one that jumps every time Ron or Harry gets too close to me."

"I'm not jealous!"

"I never said you were."

Draco glared at her smiling face and huffed.

"At least I don't get tense when someone touches me."

"I don't tense!"

"Yes, you do. I have seen you! The fact that Potter and Weasley are oblivious enough not to notice it doesn't mean I am too!"

"Well, I'm just not comfortable with their touch that's all! It's not a big deal."

Malfoy eyed her suspiciously, but let the subject drop in favor of their previous topic.

"Look, we are supposed to try and be civil to each other, no one should notice anything different between us. We shouldn't have any problem. After all, it's not as if we can't see other people."

Hermione glared at him, and then she remembered that they weren't supposed to get too comfortable with each other and she turned away, not wanting him to see how she really felt about it.

"Of course, you can always date half of the school without complications if you want." That sounded a little more aggressive that she meant it to, but at the moment she didn't care. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"That would mean that you could do it too."

"And what makes you think I want to!" She shouted at him. Malfoy put his hands in front of him, in pacification.

"Hey! Take it easy! I was only saying that you could!"

She turned away again, and Malfoy rolled his eyes, inwardly thinking how difficult girls were. No matter what you said, if they weren't in the mood for it, they were bound to take it the wrong way.

"Anyway, I think we can manage to keep this up without getting ourselves killed… If you want to."

Hermione sighed and turned to him, she was starting to know him better and she liked very much the 'new' Draco she was discovering. She wasn't about to let some unknown danger to her life to force her to stop seeing him, after all, being Harry's friend she was accustomed to unknown, life threatening dangers.

"Of course I want to."

"Good." He said, and leaned to give her a quick kiss on the lips, then he did a pout. "The only really bad thing about this is that I'll have to put up with wonder-boy-Potter and the weasel too."

Hermione smiled mischievously and crossed her arms.

"Would it really be that bad? Ron even will help to get suspicions away from us."

"How?" asked Malfoy, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Well, although Harry had talked with him, I know Ron, and I know it wouldn't be long before he'll start to try again to make advances on me. All Gryffindor already believe we would end married."

"Make it almost the entire school; you two were so lost in each other's for years. I bet the weasel was the only one dense enough not to notice."

"Well, maybe I could let him kiss me for good measure." Said Hermione, grinning at him. Malfoy looked positively horrified and did a disgusted face.

"What? That's…! Ugh! Granger! Don't put such nauseating images in my head!"

"Why not? You said we could see other people."

"Yes, but no…! Aagh! Hermione! Can't you at least make it someone more palatable?"

Hermione laughed at his disgusted face and closed her eyes, saying in mirth:

"Well, there is always Harry!"

She continued laughing, oblivious to the frozen expression that had took over Draco's features. He had paled slightly and gritted his teeth, the image of Potter kissing Hermione too vivid in his mind for his liking. He took the laughing girl by her upper arms and pulled her close to him, Hermione gasped and looked into his intense glare, not sure of what had caused that reaction. Malfoy's hand got hold of her hair and he leaned a little, their noses touching slightly.

"I said more palatable Granger, the opposite is not funny."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could do it Malfoy pressed his lips on hers, in a possessive kiss, and the girl let herself get lost in his passion once again.

* * *

The next day, Hermione was walking slowly to breakfast between her two friends, she was still a little tired, her 'conversation' with Draco had lasted well past midnight. The only reason she was on her feet early was because Ginny had woken her, trying to talk about 'what was Ron doing wrong?' So now she felt like a zombie and wasn't paying attention to the conversation that her two friends were having.

She wouldn't have noticed Malfoy and Goyle reaching the doors of the Great Hall at the same time than them, if not for the fact that Harry and Ron stopped suddenly, hearing the polite greeting from the blond.

"Good morning Granger, ready to have a lovely breakfast?"

Hermione blinked at him, Malfoy had in place his annoyed look, for a minute she asked herself what was he doing greeting her outside the Great Hall. Harry's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"Yes" said Ron "We don't remember having asked for a ferret in the breakfast."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, but he was still looking at Hermione.

"You didn't tell them? That's not very helpful of you Granger."

"Tell them what?" Hermione was a little confused. At that moment a pair of Hufflepuffs entered the Great Hall and were momentarily stunned before walking in and let the doors closed behind them, the group could still hear a distinct "What the hell?" from one of the Hufflepuffs, sudden realization hit Hermione and her eyes widened, now fully awake.

"Oh! That! Jesus, I completely forgot!"

"Figures." Malfoy almost rolled his eyes at her. Ron and Harry turned to see their friend.

"What did you forget to tell us 'Mione?" asked Harry.

"Well…" Hermione blushed slightly and Malfoy smirked, saying sarcastically.

"Come on Granger, tell them Dumbledore's brilliant idea, they're gonna love it."

Harry lifted his eyebrows in question, and Hermione sighed, hoping beyond hope that Ron wouldn't start ranting.

"You see, professor Dumbledore wants to make mixing Houses easier."

"And…?" prompted Ron. Hermione walked to the Great Hall's doors, motioning them to follow, and the three of them entered almost at the same time, followed by Malfoy and Goyle.

"And, this." Said Hermione, signaling the big table in front of them.

Harry and Ron were speechless. It was a round table; many students were sitting in uncomfortable silence, seeing the well defined boundaries of each House's territories suddenly gone. There weren't many students because it was Sunday, so they were in groups by Houses and the separation between them was clearly visible. Hermione noticed that the present Slytherins were as far away from the Gryffindors as possible, which was a considerable distance seeing the size of the table. She heard Malfoy groaning at her side and spotted Dumbledore watching them from the Head table.

Ron got out of his initial shock and asked.

"What the hell happened?"

Malfoy considered the question not worthy of being answered, Potter turned to him and Granger with wide eyes.

"Is this permanent?" he asked, Draco almost laughed at the evident anxiety in his eyes.

"Only for the weekends Potter. Thanks Merlin, we still have our tables the rest of the time."

Harry sighed with relief and turned to the table, ready to walk to the Gryffindor side of it. Ron followed him, still in semi-shock; neither noticed that Hermione remained with Malfoy. The blond boy looked longingly at the Slytherin side, and told the girl.

"Well, the sooner the better Granger."

"I think it would be better if we stay in the middle."

"It's a circular table Granger, the middle could be anywhere."

"I mean somewhere in between Slytherin and Gryffindor, Malfoy." Said her in her best annoyed tone.

"What? You don't want to be close to the serpents Granger?"

"As about the same as you'll want to sit with the lions, Malfoy."

Draco turned from one side of the table to another and frowned, then turned to the Headmaster, who was smiling happily, and for a second considered the idea of ignore the man's requirements and sit wherever he wanted to, but his eyes found professor Snape watching them coldly, the boy groaned almost painfully and turned to Hermione.

"You know? This is gonna be a completely frustrating experience."

"Come on Malfoy, we can just get over it quickly."

"Fine! The middle then."

Harry turned at that moment, realizing that Hermione hadn't followed them, and had the very bizarre and totally unwelcome vision of his friend and Malfoy walking to the table and sitting together. He stared at them openmouthed and realized he was not the only one, every present student was staring the odd movement. Draco and Hermione were pointedly ignoring everyone and started serving themselves as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. Goyle sighed, seemingly resigned, and took a sit at Malfoy's other side; Harry felt Ron tugging at his sleeve and heard.

"What the hell is she doing?"

"I don't know." He answered, as everyone started gossiping. "I'm going with her."

Harry walked to Hermione's side and leaned to her ear.

"'Mione, What are you doing?"

The girl turned to see him, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Harry, but you see, it's part of the agreement. Dumbledore wants me and Draco to sit together in the weekends."

"What!"

Harry's loud exclamation could be heard in the entire Hall, Draco smirked at him.

"Such a wonderful idea of the old man, don't you think so Potter?"

"Shut up Malfoy!"

"Harry, please, don't start a discussion here." Said Hermione, a little annoyed. Harry turned and glared at the Headmaster, who only smiled at him and his eyes twinkled merrily. The boy felt his cheeks burning and he sat beside Hermione, taking his breakfast in angry silence.

The tension in the table eased a little when Harry managed to actually start eating, soon Ron was at his side, hushing desperately, Hermione was ignoring them and Draco was keeping an eye for suspicious glares being directed at him. The Slytherins were watching the procedures carefully, but it wasn't them that Draco was worried about, Crabbe wasn't even there. Malfoy was looking for suspects in the other Houses, especially, but not only, the purebloods. He spotted two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff that were eying him a little too calculating for his tastes, all the Gryffindors were glaring warningly at him, but that was no surprise, it would be a lot harder to spot possible dangers from the Gryffindors due to the fact that all of them were potential aggressors to all Slytherins, especially Malfoy. Draco sighed, he would have to be more careful around the Gryffindors now; as if it wasn't enough with all the problems he already had. He was going to enjoy the day Dumbledore would be dead.

The Golden trio finished their breakfast as soon as they could and then left the Great Hall, heading to Gryffindor tower. Ron was furious, he couldn't believe that Dumbledore was taking Hermione's safety so lightly, Harry asked her once and again why on earth hadn't she said no?

Hermione was just ignoring them, thinking that Draco had been tense the entire time and with his guard up. Harry and Ron didn't have a clue of how dangerous this entire thing was to Draco. She didn't see it as some real threat to her own life, the fact that the blond Slytherin was worried about her seemed secondary. All Hermione saw was that someone had already tried to hurt him for having refused the Dark Mark. The girl had been thinking about it, and had concluded that the fact that Malfoy would be spending a lot of his time with her, would be considered a mayor treason in the junior Death Eaters eyes; they could decide to terminate him in order to prevent any of the Dark Lord's secrets to be revealed to the light side. She had seen it clearly at the Great Hall, when she was for the first time truly aware of the intense glares some of the students were throwing them, not only the Gryffindors.

Obviously, neither of her two boy friends were aware of her worries, they were so immersed in their rivalry with Malfoy that they were not looking for anything more. She felt angry with them. Why couldn't they use their heads and think for once? They were in war! And they should be looking for possible advantages, instead of banning them just because they came from a dubious source!

They arrived to Gryffindor common room and Ginny, Dean and Neville caught up with them, all eager to know what was going on, and Hermione was forced to explain the entire thing to them. Except the part of the ball. Neville was torn between been pleased at being in charge of the gardening group, and fearful that the Slytherins were going to be there too. Ron was not happy at all.

"It's not right! What is Dumbledore thinking? We have to do something!"

"I'm going to talk with him." Said Harry seriously. "I'm going to make him acknowledge my suspicions, he has to!"

"Don't worry Hermione," said Ginny, "we are going to be with you in all the groups."

"Yes!" said Ron passionately "We are not going to let that slimy bastard to have a chance to hurt you!"

"No!" said Hermione, truly angry now, everyone was startled to hear her like that. "That's not the way this is supposed to work! The groups are being created for us to work together as a team! Not to glare at each other all the time!"

"But, 'Mione you can't possibly want to be near Malfoy!" shouted Ron. The girl turned to him angrily.

"Why not Ron? Just because you are so closed minded as to not see that we are going to need him? We are going to fight a war if you remember!"

Ron paled at her asseveration and answered hotly.

"We don't need him Hermione! No one of those Slytherins are needed here!"

"You are a fool if you think so Ronald! We are going to need every hand that can help!"

"Not theirs!" said Ron, turning scarlet. Harry decided to step in.

"Hermione, we need all the help we can have, but Malfoy is a Death Eater we can't thrust him! You know that!"

"Why are you so sure he's a Death Eater to begin with Harry? You have nothing to prove that!"

"Hermione! Remember his bandage, he's hiding his left wrist!"

"So what? It can be an ordinary injury! You shouldn't make harsh judgments Harry, Malfoy can help us!"

Harry wanted to reason with her, but Ron was livid and shouted first.

"We don't want his bloody help Hermione! He can go and kill himself for all I care!"

Hermione pulled her fist back and punched Ron's nose, then she turned heels and ran to her dormitory. Ginny started to go after her, but Harry stopped her and they turned to where Dean and Neville were trying to get Ron upright again, the red head was furious.

"What the bloody Hell she's doing? She's a stupid, stupid wench!"

"Ron! Don't call her that!" shouted Ginny.

"And what you want me to call her! She's been an idiot!"

Both siblings continued fighting, while Harry watched worriedly the way Hermione had disappeared, then he suddenly turned and got out of the common room, he was going to talk to Dumbledore, the man had to do something to fix all the mess he had created.

* * *

The Headmaster of Hogwarts was having tea in his office, when someone knocked at the door. The man voiced his permission to enter and smiled fondly at a very upset Harry, who sat in front of him and denied tea or lemon drops.

"Professor, I don't know what you want to do with this entire 'Unity project' but you can't put Hermione's safety in the line just for it!"

The Headmaster seemed surprised at this statement

"Now, now Harry. Why would I want to put any student's safety in jeopardy?"

"I don't know!" Harry exploded, he felt as if Dumbledore was doing this on purpose. "But you know that Malfoy is dangerous! And still you are expecting Hermione to be near him all the time! He can easily hurt her!"

"And why do you think Mr. Malfoy would want to hurt Miss Granger Harry? Why do you think he's so dangerous?"

Harry groaned in frustration. Had everybody suddenly forgot who Malfoy's father was?

"You know my suspicions! I have told you! What happens if he is really a Death Eater! Have you seen the bandage on his left arm?"

"Easy Harry. We have talked about Mr. Malfoy's injury before; I can assure you it has nothing to do with the Dark Mark."

"But professor…"

"And Miss Granger is aware of it. Why don't you trusther judgment Harry?"

The boy breathed in deeply, he didn't want to give up on this, Malfoy was his enemy! Even if he really wasn't a Death Eater yet, Harry wasn't about to trust him to not hurt Hermione at the first chance he'll have.

"I really don't know what he had done to gain everyone's trust so suddenly! He's still Malfoy!"

"But he is not his father Harry. And he really hadn't done anything for you to pin point him as a true follower of Voldemort. Has he?"

"Well… no, not really… apart from being fond of dark magic and threatening us every time he can." Said Harry stubbornly, thus he had to admit that Malfoy's threats were nothing but boyish rivalry. Dumbledore seemed to know this and smiled.

"I suggest Harry that you give yourself some time to think about it and to talk with Miss Granger, she's doing a big effort for our side to gain even more supporters, and I think she won't refuse a little help from her friends."

Harry sighed, he knew he had to talk with Hermione and to clear his head; after all he was going to be near her too, it wasn't as if he was expected to leave her alone with Malfoy.

"Ok. I'll talk with her. But I'll be watching Malfoy closely!"

"Oh, my dear boy. You are free to do it!" Said the Headmaster happily.


	12. New activities

Beta'ed by: Audrey and Shelly Ann.

**Chapter 12. New activities.**

Hermione managed to escape Gryffindor tower without being noticed and headed straight for the library, she was furious and wanted to find comfort in the books.

The library was mostly empty, the few students that were in there were all Ravenclaws, and no one paid Hermione any heed, she went to the darkest corner and started to do her Charms' paper, then she followed with Transfiguration and DADA.

She lost lunch without even realizing it, not even because she was the only one left at the library. Hermione finished her homework and proceeded to do some research for the Potion's project; she walked between the aisles full of books, looking for something useful, when someone took hold of her arm and pulled her to a dark corner between two bookshelves. She gave a squeak of surprise and turned to find a pair of known grey eyes watching her.

"Malfoy!" she hushed irritably "What are you doing?"

"Really Granger, only you would be sulking at a library" answered him in a low voice; she crossed her arms and hushed back.

"I'm not sulking!"

"Yeah, sure. I didn't appreciate to be left alone at lunch, you know, Dumbledore didn't take his eyes off me."

"Lunch? Oh, sorry. I just lost track of time."

"I figured that much. Potty and the weasel seemed to be worried though."

She narrowed her eyes at him and asked.

"And why did you come looking for me?"

"Well." Malfoy took her by the arms and pulled her into him. "I supposed that since you weren't with the two twits you may be all alone."

Then he leaned and kissed her, his arms surrounded her upper body and Hermione opened her mouth in surprise, allowing him to deepen the kiss. After a while he started to trail kisses down her cheek and her neck, while his hands moved over her body, the girl sighed as a warm feeling took over her.

"Malfoy, what are you doing? This is a library."

Draco interrupted his sucking at her neck only a second.

"…So? …"

"Someone could hear us. Ow!"

Hermione did her best not to shout as one of his hands found its way under her skirt and firmly grabbed one of her buttocks.

"Hermione, it's Sunday. We're all alone right now, I checked."

"Yes, but… Aah!"

Malfoy's hand got under her panties and found its way between her legs, she was starting to get wet and he decided to give a little help, he started probing and rubbing at her, soon Hermione forgot where they were and moved against Draco's hand, he kissed her once more and inserted a finger in her, moving faster, she moaned in his mouth and her hands started to fumble with his shirt.

Suddenly she froze and Draco tried to coax her into action by flexing his finger inside her, but she pushed him away and put a hand on his mouth. He glared in annoyance, but then he heard it too; the sound of footsteps, too near to them and getting closer. He stayed in the same position, waiting for the intruder to walk away; they were on a dark corner against a bookshelf, even if someone was in their aisle they could be overlooked if they kept quiet.

He listened carefully, the footsteps were getting closer, the person should be on the other side of the bookshelf. Hermione held her breath as they heard a very low and hushed "Hermione!"

Malfoy inwardly cursed and they both got apart, rearranging their clothes quickly and the girl mouthed a "See you at dinner" before walking away, feeling completely frustrated.

She got around the bookshelf and came face to face with Potter.

"Oh, Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you! You just disappeared, we were worried!" he said in his normal voice, Hermione winced.

"Sht! Don't talk so loud, it's the library!" She hushed and started walking away to get her books, hoping to take Harry away from Draco.

"Gods Hermione, it's Sunday! Why are you in the library?"

"I just wanted to be alone! It's not as if it's forbidden to come to the library on Sundays!"

Personally, Harry thought it should be, he sighed and helped Hermione to gather her books and both of them started their way out. Harry tried to talk with her friendly.

"I went to talk with Dumbledore."

Hermione tensed and got defensive immediately, she didn't want to hear another word about the dangers of being close to Malfoy.

"Yes? An interesting conversation?" she said angrily, Harry sighed and continued trying to make peace.

"He said we both should talk, he wouldn't take my fears seriously."

"Oh, and I bet you think you know better and still want to tell me to keep as far as I can from Malfoy, right? Harry I really don't want to hear it anymore. I'm fed up with it!"

Harry's patience ran out and he yelled in frustration. Luckily they were already outside the library.

"For God's sake Hermione! I'm just worried! I don't understand what is it that you and Dumbledore have suddenly seen in Malfoy that I have missed! I just wish that someone would tell me that!"

Hermione stopped and looked at her friend; she smiled at him and sighed.

"Look Harry, it's just that he has changed; maybe not much, I'll give you that, but he's not the same. You'd see it if you weren't so ready to pick a fight with him every minute, or trying to catch him in some suspicious activity. Right now everything he might do would be suspicious to you, even the fact that he is obeying Dumbledore like all students are supposed to do."

Harry breathed deeply and got a hold of his temper, they continued walking.

"Ok. If you are sure it's worth the effort I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, and I'll even stop fighting. But don't expect me to not retaliate if he starts the fight!"

"Well, that's a beginning I guess."

She was feeling more at ease, Harry was trying to be reasonable, it shouldn't be hard to convince him that Malfoy could be a valuable ally. Now she only had to convince the blond Slytherin to actually be an ally, she had to make him see that there was still hope. Harry's voice took her out of her train of thought.

"What I really like to know is what he is hidingunder the bandage."

"Dumbledore didn't tell you?"

"He said it's an injury, but wouldn't tell me what kind of injury or how he knows it has nothing to do with the Dark Mark. He also said you know about it. Had you seen it?"

"He told you that?" Hermione bitted her lower lip in nervousness. Surely the Headmaster didn't know that she had seen Malfoy's injury?

"Well, not exactly, but he did tell me that you were aware of that it's not the Dark Mark."

Hermione sighed and decided to tell a half truth, hoping that Harry wouldn't tell anyone.

"I have seen it. He showed it to me when we went to talk about the new groups. He doesn't have any Dark Mark Harry, it's just a scar that goes all the way from his wrist to his elbow, the wrist seemed to have been pretty damaged, but the skin is healing well, when I saw it the scar was mostly white."

Harry was speechless for a moment while he processed that.

"A scar?"

"Yes."

"He's hiding a scar? But why? You said it was mostly healed!"

"He's just vain, he said it looks awful."

Harry's mouth opened in disbelief, and Hermione chuckled.

"And quite frankly Harry, I think he's enjoying himself far too much taunting you and Ron with it. He also mentioned something about it being fun."

Harry closed his mouth and fumed, saying something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "That unbelievable prat" and continued walking beside a much happier Hermione.

Ron was not so easy to placate, he stubbornly denied to have anything to do with encouraging house unity with the Slytherins. So, when dinner came, the red head was not talking to Hermione, but Harry went to sit with her and tried to be civil to Malfoy, the blond just looked at the girl intrigued, but she only smiled to him.

Dumbledore made the announcement of the new extracurricular groups that would be available to whoever wanted to attend and presented the four students in charge of them, Hermione was excited, she was sure this would be a great way for making new friendships. It was a little discouraging the fact that some people thought the way Ron did, she heard someone murmuring that the Slytherins shouldn't be allowed in the new groups, that angered her, people could be so dumb sometimes. All in all, dinner was finished and everyone went back to their own houses.

* * *

They had the first group meeting on Tuesday: Gardening.

Neville was a knot of nerves. Professor Sprout had lent the greenhouse one and a little space in the far end of it was prepared for the students to start growing anything they wanted. Harry and Hermione had promised Neville that they would help him, besides, the majority of the students that attended were third and fourth year girls. They seemed enthusiastic and ready to make a few experiments and have fun, even the Slytherins were looking happy, the few older students attending were seeing things more seriously and some had defined projects to follow.

Hermione almost chuckled when she spotted Malfoy glaring at the soil beds like they had offended him personally. He wasn't bad at Herbology but it wasn't one of his favorite subjects, and he hated to do manual work. Nonetheless Malfoy got through the experience without inflicting damage to anyone, not even to the seeds they were using, Harry spent the entire time with an eye on the blond, but he remained quiet and didn't look for trouble. Ron had plainly refused to accompany them, but Hermione was happy that at least one of her friends was making an effort.

Everyone congratulated Neville for his well done guidance, which made the boy blush with joy; even the Slytherins had paid attention to his recommendations and followed them. Harry and Hermione told him that he would do a fine teacher someday, and they pronounced the first gardening meeting a success.

* * *

Thursday afternoon was the chosen date for the DA group. Malfoy had been studying and working on his several projects in his room, waiting for the time to go to the room of requirement in which would be the group attendance. He wasn't so keen to join this particular group, not because he despised the activity, as was the case with gardening, but because all the members already hated him and the main point of the group were to learn and practice dangerous spells that could come in handy in a war environment. Malfoy didn't put it past some of his schoolmates to try and hex him into oblivion, and his joining to the DA group would only give them a chance for it.

He sighed, looking at the clock, pondering if he could claim he had forgotten; but he knew that if he didn't go the rest of the Slytherins wouldn't do it either, and that would ruin their chances at making alliances with the light side. Draco huffed in annoyance, it didn't matter anymore whichever alliances were formed or not, all of them would end up killed anyway and he knew it, but he could not bring himself to deny to his friends the illusion of a way out, even when his rational mind screamed to him it would be no good. Malfoy looked at the clock one more time; the image of Hermione telling him that it was still hope comforted him in an odd way. He had been tempted to reconsider his decision to simply let things go the way they wanted, and took an active part on it, but he was still dubious; quite frankly he was finding it difficult to change his ingrained belief that anyone could ever defeat the Dark Lord, but the odd part was that since he had got to know Hermione better he had been starting to wish that someone could, at the moment he didn't really care who, just that someone really could have a chance to do it, somehow the Gryffindor girl had managed to make him feel like there was still good things in the world that deserved to continue existing.

Malfoy shook his head in annoyance at his own thought and decided to get over with the stupid DA meeting.

When he got downstairs he found a small congregation in the common room; the upper grade's Slytherins were clearly waiting for him. Malfoy smiled to himself, it was funny how things worked among the Slytherins. He was sure that some of his housemates didn't want anything to do with a group guided by Potter, they were comfortable staying neutral in all this mess, and if they were seen in that particular group they would be as well as taken sides; but whatever their feelings on the situation, if Draco was going to be part of that group, then they were too, because it really didn't matter the fact that he was a traitor to his family, hell, he could have killed his own parents in cold blood and it would make no difference; to the pureblooded society he was still a Malfoy, a member of a powerful family that had always been part of the most select circles. Whatever he did, many of his housemates would follow, if only to keep an eye on him and could claim their support if he succeeded with his choices.

So, the older Slytherins were there, ready to go; the youngest would wait until the next meeting to join the group, it was a tacit agreement that the older ones should prove new ground first, it was some kind of social strategy.

"Where's Crabbe?" Draco asked when he noticed Vincent was nowhere in sight, he was half expecting the boy to be there also, just to follow him and be sure that he wasn't betraying any dangerous information to the enemy, like a good junior Death Eater. Then he remembered it was Vincent Crabbe he was thinking about, and snorted.

"He's in the third year's room." Blaise answered. He and Goyle hadn't let Vincent sleep in the seventh year's room anymore, so the boy had taken over the only room whose inhabitants had all gone away. "He said he didn't want anything to do with Potter."

"Well, he can suit himself. Let's go already."

Malfoy walked to the exit and Zabini joined him, both of them started the long walk to the room of requirement, followed by the rest of their housemates. Blaise was a bit uncomfortable, and Malfoy smirked at him.

"Come on Blaise, couldn't be that bad."

"Are you sure this is a good idea? We may find some of the 'others' there, and we don't know who they are."

"Yeah, I had thought about it. But it really doesn't make any difference. They can't try anything serious yet. And we could get to know some of their strategies."

"I suppose so."

They continued walking until they arrived to the right corridor. A little assembly was gathered and some faces turned to them upon hearing their arrival, they immediately turned into shocked and unfriendly faces and Malfoy stopped a few steps from them, looking for any signs of immediate aggression. It was not hard to find one when Ron walked directly in front of him.

"What are you doing here Malfoy? We don't want any of you here!"

Malfoy smirked at him, hand already inside his pocket, holding his wand.

"Well weasel, why don't you go and tell the Headmaster that? You'll do a favor to all of us."

"Just go away, and take the scum with you!" said the redhead throw clenched teeth. Malfoy could feel the rest of his housemates tensing and going for their wands and cursed the idiot Gryffindor.

"I don't see you are any better Weasley." He said without taking out his wand yet. There were too many witnesses, if there was going to be a fight he needed the red head to be the one who started it. Ron's face blushed fiercely and Malfoy was about to get his wish granted when another red head got into the equation.

"Both of you stop it! Come on Ron, back off!" Ginny grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him away from Malfoy; Ron turned into her and yelled.

"Ginny! Let me go!"

"And what are you going to do? Hermione asked us not to fight Ron, we're supposed to try to be civil remember?"

"Be civil my ass! He needs a reminder of his place!"

"And it seems you need a reminder of yours Ron!" an angry voice could be heard, and everybody turned to see a dangerous looking Hermione and an embarrassed Harry.

The girl walked in big steps to where the two siblings were and everybody backed off to make her place, even Ginny and Malfoy took some steps in retreat, leaving Ron all by himself to face the head girl's wrath. Hermione's face was scarlet and all the people present would have sworn she grew quite some inches taller.

"What do you think you're doing Weasley! We're going to welcome anyone who wants to join in this! Is that clear enough!"

"Herm…"

"And if you don't like it you can pretty well sod off! No one is making you stay here!"

All the Gryffindor's eyes grew wide; no one had ever heard Hermione talk like that. Malfoy was shocked at the change in the witch, he made a mental note to never, ever, make her that angry, he'll rather have a fast death coming his way than the long, painful one those brown eyes were promising Weasley that very second. Potter hesitated a little and then got all his bravery together and dared to touch his friend's shoulder.

"'Mione, please calm down. Can we sort this out later?"

The girl turned to him, and for a fraction of a second Malfoy was sure that Potter had dug his own tomb, but she seemed to cool and turned sharply away from her friends, Draco could almost heard the general release of breath. Harry sighed in frustration and looked at his best friend.

"You know Ron, sometimes you're just unbelievable. And I don't appreciate to be forced to apologize to the Slytherins on the first day."

Ron opened his mouth in disbelief, but before he could say anything Harry had turned embarrassed to face Malfoy and tried to mend the damage.

"I'm sorry for my friend; he's not good at taking changes well. You're welcome to join us."

Malfoy really wanted to throw a nasty word or two in to the Gryffindor's face, he so badly wanted to fight good and large with him, inflict some real damage and be free of this stupid, useless group thing, but he realized that would be a really bad mistake, the Slytherins that remained at Hogwarts already had the Death Eaters' retaliation to worry about, especially him, none of them needed more enemies right now. He frowned and put on his mask of cold indifference, he was getting rather good at it.

"Don't try to apologize for him Potter. You know why I'm here, so why don't we get over with it already?"

Harry frowned, but turned to the place where the magic door of the room of requirement should be and said. "Well, then let's start this."

The boy made the door appear into existence and all the group members followed him into the room, they arranged themselves in groups, with the Slytherins staying at the back. Ron was sulking at a corner and Hermione was pointedly ignoring him, putting on a forced smile on her face. Harry sighed once more and started to give his welcome speech, hoping to lessen the tension in the room.

There were many new members from all the Houses, and by the look of things there would probably be more coming in subsequent meetings. Harry wanted to test their skills, so he would have an idea of where to begin and what to teach them.

It turned out that the Slytherins handled quite well all the spells the group had covered so far, Harry supposed it was because they were practically on the line of fire in the war and their families should have more insight on how to effectively protect themselves, he realized their help would really be a great advantage. Many members of the original DA were not happy with the new arrangement of things, and supported Ron on his belief that they didn't need the Slytherins, but Harry with the help of Hermione and Neville managed to keep things cool and no more nasty arguments were started.

Malfoy however kept his guard up the entire time, analyzing each one of the glares directed his way and studying the group members. He put special care in being away from the purebloods and in their reactions, specially the little group that included Marshall. The rest of the Slytherins were apparently more relaxed than he was, but they were weighing their choices, they managed to merge a little in the group and that contributed a great deal in lower the tension that Ron had heightened with his outburst.

Hermione managed to talk with Malfoy at the end of the session, with the excuse of being very sorry for Ron's behavior and to ask insight about what spells or combat tactics they should be practicing and slipped a note into his hand, asking if they could meet on Friday night, then they went their separate ways to their respective common rooms.

* * *

The Gryffindors arrived to their common room making comments about the session, everyone just avoided to talk about the beginning of it, and Ron stayed silent the entire time; he immediately went to his dorm without saying a word to anyone, Harry's eyes followed him.

"Great!" the raven haired boy said, once his friend was out of hearing distance. "Just great! He wouldn't talk to us for an entire month!"

"Well, good!" said Hermione; everyone was shocked at her vehemence. "I was getting tired of his attitude. He's not helping one bit to make things easier!"

Harry sighed and sat down in a couch arm, Ginny tried to speak in her brother's favor.

"Oh, Hermione. I know it wasn't the right thing for him to start fighting like that, but he's concerned and he's trying to protect you."

"He's not protecting anyone Ginny! He's just being a stubborn prat!"

"Hermione" said Harry, trying to prevent a new argument. "You have to understand, we have seen Malfoy as the enemy since first day. He used to be the evil prat here, remember? Suddenly you went and changed your opinion about him for only God knows why, and then Dumbledore forces us to share activities with him for the sake of uniting the Houses!"

"It would make Hogwarts stronger Harry! I had told you!"

"Yes! I agree with that! I had already resigned myself to give it a try! All that I'm saying is that it is a lot to take in one bite! 'Mione you saw the Slytherins today, they don't trust us either, Malfoy doesn't trust us, neither do we. Maybe we can manage to work together and be able to know the Slytherins better, but it would take time. You can hardly ask everybody to suddenly forget the past and act friendly towards each others! And you know Ron, he's not taking things so well, he had despised Malfoy all his life, he's just overacting."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms.

"That is no reason for him to almost ruin everything, and to react the way he did! Come on Harry! He knew perfectly well why Malfoy was there! Dumbledore practically ordered it! Ron had no reason to act as an idiot!"

"Besides, he did humiliate us in front of the Slytherins Harry" that was from Seamus, everyone turned eyes at him, Ginny was indignant.

"Finnegan! How can you say that?"

"Well he did! He started the whole thing the moment the Slytherins arrived. To tell the truth Malfoy was just answering his retorts, he didn't even take out his wand."

"Yeah" said Neville "He let Ron to do all the talking. I was embarrassed when Harry apologized."

"That's right Ginny." Said a sixth year girl. "If it wasn't for you, your brother would have been the first to throw a hex."

They started to discuss whether Ron had been right or wrong at his outburst. Harry didn't listen to them. He felt really awkward, the entire problem was reduced to the supposed belief that Gryffindors should be better than the Slytherins, and Harry was slowly realizing the utter falsehood of that statement. He was starting to see what Dumbledore wanted to tell him with this "unity project". That the House you're in didn't say that you are better o worse than others, it shouldn't have anything to do with whether people are trustworthy or not. The fact was that all of them were just kids, with different backgrounds and different ways to deal with life. Ron's outburst had been the result of years of prejudice and ingrained rivalry, and Malfoy had let it happen all the same. The blond could have retaliated in a more aggressive way, but he chose to let Ron take the part of the intransigent one this time.

Harry had no doubt that Malfoy had done what he considered would give the Slytherins the upper hand and Ron had fallen for it. But Harry also saw that Malfoy really was following Dumbledore's orders, he was making the Slytherins participate in the inter-House groups, he was leading them to merge with the others. Whatever the reasons Malfoy had to do it, and Harry still had his doubts about the blond, the point was that the Slytherin was trying, and was letting the Gryffindors to be the ones who put all the complains and obstacles.

'_Clever git'_ Harry thought with dark humor and made a decision. They needed the Slytherins; there was no doubt about that. Malfoy still wasn't trustworthy, for much that Harry wished to thrust Hermione's and Dumbledore's judgment on the matter, he wasn't ready to accept such a change, he needed more proof that the bastard wouldn't turn up to be spying for Voldemort, along with Snape. He was going to be watching Malfoy even more carefully, but he would put extra effort not to start any fight. If it was true that Malfoy was trying to cooperate with the cause, Harry was not going to be left behind. He decided to talk with Ron and try to make him see things in a better light and was about to share his conclusion with Hermione when he heard Dennis Creevey telling her.

"Why don't you go and tell him how you feel Hermione? You're his girlfriend, he would listen to you."

'_Oh, shit'_ was all Harry could think of. Hermione turned red and glared angrily at the boy, who instantly knew he had made a big mistake and retreated behind his brother.

"What!" Yelled Hermione "Who told you that? I'm not his girlfriend!"

Dennis had the sense to look mortified.

"Mmm. Sorry. I just thought... well because... you're always together and... well..."

"Well I'm not! I'm not anyone's girlfriend for that matter!"

"But" say Lavender, incapable of shut her mouth. "You can't help it if we thought you were, Hermione. You two are really close to each other."

"Yes." said Parvati "Even if it's not official, everyone sees that."

"Well, we're not that close anymore! Nor we'd ever be!"

"Herm" started to say Ginny, but the bushy haired girl stopped her.

"No! It would never be official because I never would be anyone's girlfriend! I'll never commit to a boy do you all understand that! So stop already thinking of me like I'm attached to Ron! I don't care anymore what he does as long as he does it away from me!"

And with that she turned and climbed the stairs to her dormitory, leaving everyone openmouthed. Dennis was deeply embarrassed.

"Damn. I didn't know she would get mad."

"Don't worry Dennis" said Harry, trying to cheer him. "It's not your fault, she's not mad at you, she's just upset."

The boy shrugged and conversations continued with the added gossip, Harry could see that Ginny was unhappy, but he didn't want to get into an argument with her, so he decided to go to his room and retrieve his books to try and do some homework before dinner.

Draco walked the dungeon's corridors tiredly. It was boring to do the night's round all alone, his partner for the evening was Hannah Abbott, but he had been called by professor Snape to inform him about the earlier DA meeting, so both prefects had decided to split and the girl went to round the upper floors while Draco did the lower ones.

He was nearly finished and already heading to his common room when he heard footsteps behind him. Wand in hand he turned around to find himself face to face with three wands aiming at him, the students had their cloaks on and masks, Malfoy wanted very badly to roll his eyes at them, instead he calculated all the possible routes of escape he had, one of his aggressors spoke to him.

"Low it Malfoy. You can't expect to take all three of us at once."

Draco did it slowly and unhappily, he was ready to bolt, hoping to be fast enough for none of the possible hexes they could throw at him to hit, but first he wanted to know what this was about and he waited for them to continue, he heard what sounded like a girl's voice coming from the middle student.

"You are a fool Malfoy, to think you can betray the Dark Lord so lightly, it's clear that Marshall's warning fell on deaf ears."

Malfoy smirked despisingly and couldn't help but answer.

"That fool? He's not even good enough to brew a potion; the possibilities are that you are as bad as he. If that's all the Dark Lord has in here I doubt I'm in any real danger."

That was foolish, and he knew it, any Slytherin follower of the Dark Lord would have make him pay dearly for his words, but the students in front of him were not Slytherins, and with their answer Malfoy could immediately tell they hadn't a clue of what to do.

"Watch you mouth Malfoy! You have no right to talk to us like that; you're nothing but a blood traitor!"

Malfoy's smirk grew and turned predatory, he gave a step forward, the wands didn't lower but no one threw any hex at him.

"Yes? And what you're going to do about it?"

"We are here to warn you Malfoy! If you open you mouth with Potter or his mudblood pet you are going to be very sorry!"

"Yeah? Why I doubt it so? You are afraid."

"That's not true! Why should we be? How could you say that?"

"Easy enough, any Slytherin would have hexed me ages ago and here you are, still believing that talking to me nonsense like that would frighten me, as if I were a five year old toddler. Oh you are very eager to call yourselves Death Eaters, but honestly, you are really just poor excuses for teenage terrorists!"

That made the wands quaver, and Malfoy decided he wanted to know who was behind the masks. He raised his wand in a fast movement and shouted.

"Accio masks!"

The surprised kids tried to cover their faces before thinking to send any kind of spell to Malfoy, and so the blond had plenty of time to run and disappear in one of the many secret passages of the dungeons. Once safe he resumed his way to his common room thinking.

He could distinguish two of the faces and he frowned in annoyance, there really were no competent junior Death Eaters these days, they were lost without the Slytherins. At least he now had identified more sources of possible danger, and he had one Gryffindor suspect. His frown deepened at that; it was someone that had easy access to Hermione, he would have to tell her about it.


	13. New activities 2

**Chapter 13 New activities 2**

Draco groaned loudly feeling his insides burning with pleasure; he just loved the sensation of Hermione's body under him, around him. The way they both focused on each other's pleasure and forgot everything else.

The feeling of her inner muscles tightening around him sent him screaming over the edge along with her. Gods! The world was perfect for some precious seconds. Malfoy collapsed at her side and she cuddled against him, they stayed like that for a few minutes, waiting for the world to catch up with them. After a while Draco sobered and remembered what was in store for next day.

"Tomorrow we have Quidditch."

Hermione groaned and made a face at the remembrance of it.

"I hate it. Do you think I could talk Dumbledore about it again? Maybe I'll manage to convince him of letting me quit."

"That would not be fair! If you get yourself out of Quidditch I'll quit gardening!"

"Why? What's wrong with soil?"

"What's wrong with flying?"

Hermione glared at him and gave up.

"I don't like it. I'm not good at sports, I'm a bookworm."

"Well, it's about time you try something funnier."

"I'm not sure it would be funny at all."

"It would, you'll see. At least it would be for me."

Hermione hit him with a pillow and he just laughed at her, saying:

"How aggressive you had become."

"I had realized that it's necessary with a Malfoy."

"Anyway, I have to tell you something before we go."

Hermione listened carefully to Malfoy's suspicions and scowled, resisting to believe that she had to protect herself from one of her own house, but he wanted her to watch her back and she'll do it, they all would have to be more careful around possible followers of the Dark Lord, no matter who they were.

Eventually they realized it was late and soon they were in the dungeons, each one walking to their respective houses, not even aware of the shadow that had been spying their meetings and was now nodding approvingly at the two retreating teenagers.

* * *

The Quidditch group was opened to anyone who'd want to attend, regardless of year or whether or not they were part of the House's teams, after all it was just for fun and many were waiting for it, the fact that Draco Malfoy was the one in charge of the group discouraged some of the students, but still there were many willing to give it a try.

On Saturday, Harry and Hermione walked to the Quidditch pitch to join the promised group, the girl was nervous and so didn't share her friend's excitement over more time to do some extra practice and the chance to see some of Malfoy's tactics. He assumed that the blond would make the entire Slytherin team join this particular group, they had been forced to do new try outs a week ago, because the sensible reduction of the Slytherin population had affected the team as well, and no one had seen the new Slytherin team playing that year. Harry was hopeful that he'll know more about Malfoy's way of training in these extra "lessons" and to discover who were the new keeper and the two chasers of the team.

A few of the younger Gryffindors were accompanying Harry and Hermione; the first years had been pretty exited about the perspective of playing Quidditch even if it wasn't in a House team; Ron wasn't talking to them and Ginny was in a bad mood and so they weren't joining the group, but Seamus, Dean Thomas and Colin Creevey were there, surprisingly without the camera.

They arrived to the Quidditch pitch to be confronted with a crowd; every first and second year remaining in Hogwarts were there, a good amount of the third to fifth year's population, and a few upper years. Malfoy was talking with Madam Hooch about the procedures to handle all these people when they arrived. Draco looked at them without interest and his eyes fixed on Harry. The Gryffindor was ready to tell off any derogative comments of the blond, but instead of the expected '_What are you doing here?'_ Malfoy only nodded in acknowledgment and said.

"Send your first years with the beginners Potter, the rest of you would have to take a test to be placed in a suitable subgroup. Of course if you want to place the muggleborns in the beginners' group right along we'll save a lot of time."

Harry was so shocked to hear Malfoy talking civilly to him and to hear a Slytherin not using the word mudblood to refer to the muggleborns, that he was left speechless and lost the opportunity to retort to Draco about his veiled insult to the muggleborns flying abilities. Instead he heard Seamus voicing his own shock loudly.

"What? Not even a painful remark of complain about us being here?"

Draco turned to the Irish boy and smirked evilly.

"Why Finnegan? You expected me to lower myself at the weasel's level? I'm not that stupid you know. But if it makes you feel better I certainly wasn't expecting any of you to make an appearance, but I guess it can't be helped. Now get on moving and don't make me waste my time."

He turned his back to the lot of them before anyone could make a comment, Seamus was blushing furiously, but Harry had felt somewhat relieved that the old Malfoy was still there, that at least was known ground for him. He turned to the rest of the Gryffindors and told them.

"Well, you heard him. He's the boss here, so we have to follow his directions. First years and the one's who felt like they hadn't enough experience go with the beginners' group. The rest have to wait our turn."

"Harry, why do you have to be tested? You're the best Quidditch player around here!" said Colin in annoyance, Harry just smiled.

"I really don't mind Colin, I think it's fair that all of us do the test, that way we won't be favoring anyone."

Colin and many other Gryffindors huffed in discomfort, but they didn't say anything more. Hermione made a bee line to the beginners group, along with the four Gryffindor first years. Many of the students were clearly nervous, Harry had the impression that they were waiting for a bomb to explode any minute, it was starting to be annoying, the fact that everyone was convinced of his and Malfoy's incapacity to be at least civil to each other. Harry decided to ignore everybody and intended to look happy and cherry the entire time, it was worth the effort to see Malfoy's confused expression every time they made eye contact; Malfoy looked at Harry as if the boy had cracked out.

The sense of discomfort and morbid expectation vanished when they started to fly. Harry of course ended in the advanced group, and had to admit that Malfoy knew how to handle people. The blond organized them based in each one's experience and potential. They made laps and simple evasive maneuvers; they also made a race and even a little game of tag in the air. Once Malfoy had an idea of how each one moved in the air he went for testing how well they played and define the final groups, they did a sort of try outs for the positions they played best. Harry didn't want to be seeker again, he wanted to try something different and so he ended as a chaser. Hermione was difficult to place; her equilibrium suffered when she tried to fly with a hand in the air to catch the Quaffle, she had not the speed or reflexes for either a seeker or a keeper, and she lacked the built and strength commonly associated to a beater, but she had a very good swing when she was quiet. Malfoy decided she first had to improve her flying abilities and then she could try for chaser or beater, meanwhile he put her with the ones that were still learning to maneuver the broom to their liking, she was deeply relieved that it wasn't expected of her to start playing right along.

They spent some hours at this and finally all the minor groups were settled. The Quidditch pitch was going to be modified on Saturdays, so there would be smaller pitches where the students could play; Dumbledore had made some major magic in order to do that, he had also arranged that the group would have all Saturday until 5pm, so they could make a schedule and the pitch wouldn't be so crowded.

Harry was shamefully amazed at the ease with which Malfoy had handled the group, it seemed like it was natural for the boy to be in charge, Harry made note to use some ideas for his own DA group which was big too, he talked with Hermione about it and she approved the idea.

Once they had make a schedule for next Saturday, Draco declared the session officially finished.

Harry was waiting for Hermione to return her school broom, when he saw Patrick Thorney, the captain of the Ravenclaw team, walking over to intercept Malfoy and stopping the blond to argue with him. He seemed pretty pissed off; Harry wondered what the problem was and approached the pair. Most of the students had already gone but a few still remained and were turning to look at the two captains, Harry walked near enough to hear the discussion, at the moment Malfoy was coldly saying.

"It's not my problem Thorney. Go and complain to Dumbledore about that, he was the one that wanted this anyway."

"Do you think I'm blind Malfoy? I'm sure you agreed with this at your own convenience!"

"Yes, it's very convenient for me to have the group I'm in charge of on Saturdays, so I still have all the week to do my homework without having to lose time."

"Don't be so cocky! Surely you're using this extra time for your own team!"

Harry blushed a little; that was exactly what he had thought, and he had expected to practice a bit himself but they ended just having a good time, Malfoy crossed his arms and his tone changed to disdain.

"Really Thorney! Do you honestly think any team could have a real practice here?"

"I bet the Slytherins can! Besides, you are taking an entire day that could be used by the other Houses' teams for their own practice!"

Malfoy was growing annoyed; this conversation was useless, Thorney was only looking for trouble.

"You still have six remaining days in the week Thorney."

"The week is for study Malfoy. We have only the weekends for the team to practice and you are taking one day away! No doubt for your own purposes."

"Look Thorney. I don't care how you do your training! You have the entire week to schedule it. Saturdays are mine! And if you have any complains about it, like I said before. Go. Talk. To Dumbledore. And leave me alone!"

Harry noticed that Malfoy's voice had changed slightly, his tone suggested that the blond was about to take out his wand and hex the unfortunate one in front of him. Harry took a few steps nearer, just in case things got ugly; unfortunately for him that movement make Patrick notice him and the Ravenclaw turned to include the raven haired boy in the argument.

"What do you think Potter? Are you gonna let this bastard get his way? Or are you looking for some advantage here too?"

Harry looked at the boy in disbelief, and blushed somewhat embarrassed.

"What?"

"Come on Potter! Did he tell you the Gryffindors could share the extra time of practice? That's why you're here? Considering that you two seem to be getting along just well lately, maybe you even have changed friendships Potter."

This time Harry's blush was from anger. How anyone could suggest such a thing? Draco gritted his teeth, asking himself why he was forced to deal with idiots, predictably Potter just exploded.

"What in Hell are you talking about Patrick? Are you out of your mind? He's Malfoy! Why would I want anything from him!"

"Then why do you let him take part of your famous DA group? I heard everything that happened Harry, you placed the Slytherins over your friends!"

"That's not what happened!" Harry was furious now, why people always distorted things and he always ended in the bad side was beyond him. "Dumbledore ordered the groups to be opened to Everyone!"

"And so you came practice Quidditch with your worst enemy?" said Patrick maliciously.

"What's your problem Thorney? I'm not here because of him! I'm here because Dumbledore wants us to be civil with each other!"

"Ha! As if it was possible for a Gryffindor to be civil to a Slytherin!" Thorney drawled, narrowing his eyes.

Harry was beyond shocked now. He couldn't believe the boy had actually said that. Did everybody believe them incapable of cooperation? Well, he had to admit that he still had some troubles with it, but he was really trying, why people couldn't see that? Malfoy took advantage of Harry's momentarily speechless state to say with as much venom as he could:

"Well Potter, it seems that the weasel isn't the only idiot around here who can't tell between a friendly meeting and something you're forced to do. Pretty bad Thorney, I was under the impression that you Ravenclaws were smarter, even Granger didn't put that much of a trouble…" Malfoy was interrupted by an angered Patrick that advanced on him until he was nose to nose with the blond and hissed.

"Shut up you git! Don't compare me with that mud…!" Patrick's mouth closed with an audible click, too late because Draco's eyes narrowed in comprehension.

"With who Thorney?" he said a little too cherry.

Before the Ravenclaw could utter some kind of answer Potter grabbed his arm and pulled him a few steps away from Malfoy. The Gryffindor hadn't heard the exchange very well but he had the distinct idea that Patrick hadn't liked Malfoy's words. Thorney attempted to return to his original tantrum.

"Anyway, it's still unfair that you are having extra time for Quidditch Malfoy!"

"Then why didn't you come join us Patrick?" a new voice inserted itself in the argument, the boys turned to see Theresa Bristwood, the Hufflepuff captain, approaching them. "If you are so worried about whether we are training our teams here or not, then why didn't you come? Dumbledore told us everybody was invited, even the official team's members."

"That's right Thorney." Said Harry, attempting to cool a little. "You could have come with your team and fly with us too."

"Are you crazy? It's not real training and I…" Thorney shut up again, biting his lip, and Malfoy smirked with malice.

"And you don't want to lose time in kids plays" the blond ended Patrick's statement. "Understandable for a Ravenclaw. Now, what was your complain again Thorney?"

Patrick looked at the three captains and knew he had blown it. What he really had wanted was to make Malfoy angry, to have an excuse to take out his wand and hex him. It had proven to be more difficult than he had thought and he had let the Slytherin get to him instead. Turning a deep shade of red he just wanted to be out of there.

"It's not as if I want to be in any group that has a Slytherin in charge."

"Too bad, you seem the only one who has made a fuss over it." Said Malfoy.

Thorney just glared at them and then left. Bristwood shrugged and left, saying under her breath: "Some people can't live without troubles."

Potter came aware of some students surrounding them, he caught sight of Hermione approaching and Blaise and Goyle behind Malfoy, and thought that Patrick could have had a nasty experience if things had gone violent. Hermione worriedly asked him.

"Harry, what happened?"

"I'm not sure. Thorney was pretty much doing what Ron had done on Thursday."

The girl sighed and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I wonder why people can't stand a little change in things?"

'_Little?'_ asked Malfoy to himself. Harry embraced Hermione's shoulders, making her flinch uncomfortably, the boy didn't seem to notice, he didn't pay heed either to the cold glare Malfoy was sending his way.

"Come on 'Mione. Let's go find Ginny."

And Harry took his friend away, doing his best for ignoring Malfoy and the fact that the blond had called idiot to his best friend, mainly because he wanted to show himself that he had more control than everyone gave him credit for. He wasn't aware of Hermione blushing at his side and wanting very badly for him to release her, even less of Malfoy's murderous glare following them.

Draco wanted to hex the bloody boy-who-lived to hell. How dare Potter be so familiar with her?

'_Let her go! Take your hands off her Potter! She's mine!'_ Draco thought fiercely as the pair reached the stairs to get into the building and the boy finally released Hermione of his arm. Malfoy still watched them a couple of seconds before realization hit him and he almost gaped unbelievingly at what he had thought.

'_No, no, no. No way! I'm not thinking of her that way! She's not…!'_ Malfoy felt annoyed at his lack of words, he couldn't say that they weren't lovers because they were, that much he couldn't deny anymore, he was frustrated, he had promised himself he wouldn't let that happen! '_Stupid Mudblood!'_

Malfoy felt angry at himself and stubbornly push his conflicting thoughts away, he didn't want to deal with them, all he wanted was to pretend they didn't exist. Blaise came to his rescue, pulling his arm and reminding him that he still had to take the Quidditch balls to the storage room and talk with Madam Hooch to be sure that everything was in order. Blaise obviously also wanted to know what had happened with Thorney and Malfoy was eager to discuss it while they walked to the storage along with Goyle.

"So, another one you think?" asked Blaise, once Malfoy had finished his story.

"Yes. They really are careless. It seems some of the Ravenclaws are finally showing their true colors."

"And the other two houses?" asked Goyle, worried mainly because he was starting to get along with a Hufflepuff girl and couldn't tell for the life of him in which side she was. Malfoy smirked knowingly.

"I have just one suspect among the Gryffindors, no Hufflepuffs yet. Don't worry Gregory, I think your new friend is pretty clean."

"Oh" said the boy, clearly relieved, Zabini was more worried.

"What do we do Malfoy?"

"We don't have to do anything. They can't do anything permanent to us. And most of them are too cowards for that anyway."

"But how long would it last? And what about Snape?"

Blaise had a point, Snape at the moment represented the most dangerous person for them, and he was their Head of House. The only thing that put the few Slytherins that knew of Snape's alliances at ease was that the man wouldn't risk lose his façade only to get at them.

"Let's not think of him for now, if he's not aware yet of what is happening it's better he remains that way. Blaise, how's your girlfriend?"

"Pretty pissed off that Marshall wants to know every single detail of our relationship. She can't tell him anything useful, but he's starting to give her funny thoughts about me, for example, I wasn't aware that I used to torture birds when I was a child."

"That's ridiculous, but not unlikely."

"Hey!"

"Just tell her to ignore Marshall. We have to take care with him, of all the idiots that are currently trying to scare us he's the most dangerous until now."

They continued their way and finished all that Malfoy was supposed to do, then they returned to their common room, complaining about classes and too much work to do.

* * *

Next day was Hermione's turn to initiate her group. She was really exited and got to the room of requirement early to be sure everything was fine. Ginny was pretty exited too, she had promised to help and Harry was dragged into it because of Ron's stubborn determination to ignore them all.

The room was large, it had wooden floor and some of the walls had big mirrors attached to them. Harry sat in one of the many big cushions the room seemed fit to provide while the two girls assorted the music and Hermione explained how the CDplayer worked. Hermione was pleased that they had all kinds of music, including salsa, merengue, waltz, and some of the Weird Sister's ones.

When finally it was time to begin, Hermione welcomed somewhat nervously all the students that attended. She was happy to have a good audience, near twenty five students were there, the majority of the upper grades. Hermione told them all what this was going to be about and then chose a song, the room filled immediately with the joyous tones of a salsa; the girl showed them the basic steps with Dean as her partner, because Harry was hopeless at it. In no time everyone was moving and having a good time either dancing or trying to.

Hermione walked along the room, giving advice and help when needed; Harry actually managed to finish a song with Ginny without stepping on her feet, and the rest didn't do so bad either. Hermione had to be careful not to stare at Malfoy, the blond was dancing with Millicent and both were very good at it, though the Gryffindor girl could hear the blond complaining about muggle music, she smiled and couldn't help but imagine how would she look with Malfoy when they'll dance together at the final ball, she wished they could dance in the class but that was out of the question, instead she found herself trying to put songs of the Weird Sisters that weren't too slow and didn't require much body contact. That was until she discovered Malfoy's amused look, the one that told '_I know what you are doing'_ It annoyed her enough to put on a waltz. She regretted it when Millicent practically clung onto Malfoy and Hermione had to remind herself that they were not a couple and that she had no business being jealous over him, she tried to distract herself criticizing Harry's attempt at waltz, but she didn't put another one.

The 'lesson' lasted a good hour and a half, and all the attendants left happy and satisfied. Hermione wanted to talk to Malfoy when the lasts students were leaving. They had been neglecting their Arithmancy project lately and she wanted to know if he was up for it this afternoon, tough she knew that being Sunday he'll probably look scandalized, he could work extra time all the week but Sundays were almost sacred. She smiled to herself thinking about that and approached the blond Slytherin, but before she could get near enough to speak, another girl, with long black hair and white skin, got in her way. Hermione froze as she saw said girl pulling Malfoy to give him a kiss on the lips, the startled boy didn't seem too pleased but he didn't pull away, when the girl released him he had his scowl right in place. Hermione was near enough to hear his words.

"Febe. What are you doing?"

The girl, who Hermione recognized now as Febe Shatkins, a Hufflepuff, smiled sheepishly at him and answered.

"Well, Pansy's not here anymore, so I thought that we could… you know, have another time together… like last year, only this time we don't have to hide it from anyone, we can even make it formal if you want."

Malfoy arched an eyebrow at the girl, Hermione was speechless, the bitch was actually proposing to Malfoy? She wouldn't allow that! She was about to rudely interrupt the conversation when Draco's silver eyes pinned her to the floor; the boy regarded her coldly before asking.

"Is there anything you want Granger?"

Hermione blinked, reality adjusting itself around her and remembering where she was and that Malfoy was nothing to her, she just shook her head, unable to speak yet. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her but Febe inserted herself in his line of vision, looking for attention.

"Come on Malfoy. I liked it very much to be with you. Why not repeat the experience? Just another try?"

She clung to his arm and Hermione bit her lip, turning red. Malfoy was looking at the girl currently regarding him with puppy eyes.

"Look Febe I don't want anything serious."

"Oh, it doesn't have to be if you don't want to, we could just have it like the last time, just occasional, yes?"

Malfoy averted his glance and shrugged her off him, walking to the door.

"Maybe."

"Yes? Oh Malfoy please! Tell me yes!"

"Not now Shatkins! Maybe." And he was out of the room, followed close by the still whimpering girl.

Hermione's eyes followed them, feeling near tears, she reminded herself of all the times Malfoy had told her that there was nothing between them, that it was just convenient sex. She had accepted it, but now she realized that she hadn't really thought of the possibility of him wanting to be with another girl.

'_He told her 'maybe', so…'_ she thought '_it's really just sex for him.' _Suddenly she felt… not good enough.

She was unaware of Harry and Ginny behind her until the boy touched her shoulder making her jump and turn to them. Harry was clearly worried.

"Hermione, are you all right?"

"What? Oh, sure Harry, don't worry." She tried to smile at him and failed miserably. "I'm tired that's all, I think I'll go to my room. I'll see you later."

And she left hurriedly before anyone could ask her anything.


	14. The first time

**Chapter 14.** **The first time (once again).**

Draco was looking to the canopy of his bed, frustrated and annoyed with the world. It was Saturday again and Granger hadn't talked to him the entire week, besides what was strictly necessary to do their work. Malfoy could tell that she was upset and he didn't have the slightest idea of why. Ok, he knew why, but what he could do if the Hufflepuff girl didn't want to leave him alone? Besides, he had clearly specified, lots of times, that there was no commitment between he and Granger, so the girl had really no business being this jealous! Halt there, that was not right, it was not jealousy, Draco understood jealousy, he would be highly hypocrite if he accused her of jealousy while he was wishing to stab Potter to death every time the bloody prat got his hands on her. It was not jealousy, at least not the explosive type, it was more like… sadness, and it was driving Malfoy mad! He could deal with jealousy. Hell, he had had lots of practice with Pansy, but hadn't a clue of what to do with what Granger was throwing at him. He just couldn't understand it; there was no reason for her to be sad! Shatkins was an annoying girl who insisted on wanting to cling onto him every time she could. Granted, he admitted that he hadn't done a considerable effort to make her stop, but still Granger should be angry and wanting to strangle him or the girl or both. Not sad and ignoring him!

Malfoy sighed in frustration and gave a few punches to his pillow. This was really stupid, he shouldn't been worrying about how the Gryffindor's head worked! He shouldn't even care! The girl was nothing to him; there was nothing between them, so why was he giving a damn of how and why she was acting this silly towards him! Why was he worrying his brain out trying to figure out why she was sad as if it really mattered!

He closed his eyes tightly, he didn't want to acknowledge the thought that was slowly forming in his mind, he didn't want to accept the possibility of real affection between them even if it was setting fire to his world, because if he did there will be no walking out of this, no more easy way out of the land of the living and the mess of the war, if he accepted that he cared for her he wouldn't let her go, and he didn't want to be so close to anyone, not now when the world was about to explode and most likely to take everything from him, he didn't want to care about someone only to lose her.

'_That stupid, stupid mudblood!'_ he thought with vehemence, trying his best to put some feeling behind the word, to bury the traitorous thoughts that were putting quite a fight to make him acknowledge them.

A knock on his door dragged him back to reality and he got up from his bed in time to see Goyle's head poking in the room.

"Draco, it's almost time for Quidditch."

"Ok Greg, I'm coming."

Malfoy took his broom and walked with the other boy out of his dormitory, hoping that his mind would forget his inner turmoil while flying.

* * *

"Really Harry, I'm fine. You should be helping me getting Ginny off my back instead of helping her!" Hermione was annoyed with her friends. After a whole year of ignoring her and how bad she had felt, now when she wanted to be left alone they decided to worry about her well being! She was feeling depressed and she might need consolation and hugs, but not from them, they didn't even had a clue of why she was feeling low and she wasn't about to enlighten them.

"Ok, ok. I'm being a nuisance, but you really look sad Hermione, not even Malfoy and Ron's latest shouting match in the library made you get out of it"

Harry had been surprised to see that Hermione had come back to her usual behavior towards Malfoy, namely ignoring him, Ron had noticed it too and had started to talk to them again, hoping that everything will be finally coming back to normal. Harry hadn't liked it, it wasn't only the fact that Hermione had returned to be non friendly towards Malfoy, it was that she wasn't talking much to any of them, not even to berate them for poorly made homework and that was what made Harry worry about his friend.

Ron had tried to make peace with her, and she accepted his apologies easily and without further discussion, Harry had had the feeling that she really hadn't paid attention to what Ron was saying at the moment, Ginny had thought that too, and had been trying to cheer Hermione or making her tell what was bothering her. Ron had joined them again at the study groups and the DA and he and Malfoy returned to be nasty to each other, with Hermione only ignoring them and Harry wondering what the hell had he missed again.

They were now in the Quidditch pitch, waiting for their respective groups to gather; Malfoy was occupied helping a first year Hufflepuff to release his broom from one of the loops where it had gotten stuck somehow, and Hermione was pointedly looking to the other side of the pitch, while Harry talked to her.

"Ok, maybe I'm not being myself lately, but really Harry, I'll prefer that you don't worry about it, I want to deal with it myself."

"Fine." Harry sighed, feeling frustrated that his help was not required. "Just tell me if you want to talk about it ok?"

"Ok Harry, now go and join your group."

They were the last round of the Quidditch group, so when time was over all of them were supposed to clear the pitch and Malfoy could get back to the ground, pretty tired and finally understanding his godfather's distaste for student's clumsiness. He saw Potter talking to Lovegood, surely telling her some nonsense about her battered looking broom, Hermione must have gone to return the school broom she used. Malfoy turned to the storage room's general direction and soon he spotted her, walking sourly towards the pitch again. He entertained the thought of going and try to talk to her with whatever excuse he could come up with, when he felt someone clung to his arm and a high pitched voice greeted him, he sighed in annoyance and turned to see Febe at his side.

"Let go of me Shatkins! I hate people clinging to me like that!" he shrugged her off, and the girl just looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Sorry Dray, I just…"

"Stop! Stop this instant. What did you call me?" Malfoy interrupted her, unbelievingly eyes fixed on her black ones.

"Dray?"

"Who the hell told you we were on nicknames basis? You better forget it Shatkins!"

The girl seemed upset, but she didn't relinquish.

"Ok, that's fine if you want to, but Draco please, had you thought about us? Don't you want us to have another try? Please?"

Malfoy was in the verge of shouting his frustration for the entire world to hear it. Granger had stopped near enough to listen without seeming too interested, Harry approached her and was very amused at the deadly glare Malfoy was trying to pierce the girl with.

"Listen very carefully Shatkins. No. I don't want to give it another try. I'm happy and comfortable without any girl hanging of my arm, and I don't want to have anything with you again. Got that?"

"But Draco" whimpered the stubborn girl "just one more time, just once. It wouldn't hurt you, it would be very enjoyable."

"Shatkins no!"

"Hey Malfoy!" Blaise shouted from the storage room, where he was trying to make a bludger behave and get back into the chest. "Care to help me!"

Malfoy happily rushed to his housemate's aid, leaving an upset Febe behind. Hermione didn't like the girl; she had seen her many times in the week practically offering herself to Draco in front of anyone who was looking. She had started to wonder why she had thought herself as pathetic once, the Hufflepuff girl really was giving a new meaning to the word, she had even gotten Malfoy's nerves to a breaking point. Hermione decided to talk to the girl, maybe she could get her to stop acting like that.

"Don't you think you're lowering yourself too much? He's not even worth it." That last bit she said out of anger at Malfoy, but she was surprised when Shatkins turned to her with a despising look on her face that could match any Slytherin's.

"Oh, and who are you to tell me that? You wish you could know what you're talking about!"

"What?" Hermione nearly gaped at the girl, who continued her talking.

"Yes! Don't take me for a fool Granger! I have noticed the way you see him when I come, you wish you were lucky enough to attract his sight, but guess what Granger? You're nothing to him, you'll never have any chance to a night with him because simply you're not good enough for him! At least I'm a half-blood, and so he's willing to spend a night with me, but you, you poor muggleborn would never know how much he's worth the try!"

Shatkins turned on her heels and left. Hermione was shocked into silence, the first thing that came to her mind was asking herself if she had really been that obvious in her stares at Malfoy and then she mulled over the fact that she had been insulted by a pathetic Hufflepuff girl, who by the way was trying to get herself into Malfoy's pants. She didn't know how she should react at that. Harry's voice startled her out of her shock.

"Did I hear right? That girl actually thinks you want anything with that git? And why did she insult you? She has no right to do it!"

"Well… well she's… she's just a stupid girl! I can't believe she said that to me!" Hermione clutched her fists in annoyance and began walking to the castle, Harry following her.

'_SHE said to ME that I'm not good enough for Malfoy! Well we will see that!'_ her anger at the girl's stupidity succeeded in making her forget her own self-derogatory thoughts about the matter. Feeling more like herself again she started to think of a way to confront Malfoy without looking so desperate.

Ron intercepted them at the outer stairs.

"Hey! How was the flying?"

"Good. It's a shame you didn't want to join Ron, you could have fun!" said Harry, Hermione remained silent, still fuming about Febe's words.

"And watch Malfoy's face more than I already have to? No thanks." Ron threw a curious glance at Hermione's unhappy face and arched an eyebrow.

"What's the matter 'Mione? That bastard gave you troubles?"

Hermione looked at him and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Does it always have to be him the one that causes me troubles? We didn't even talk to each other!"

Ron got his hands up in surrender.

"Geez, Ok 'Mione. It's really good you came back to your senses. I was only wondering who made you angry."

"It was a girl." Said Harry, still annoyed himself at what Febe was thinking of Hermione. "You know her, that Shatkins."

"The one that has been all over Malfoy this entire week? Yuck! I wonder why anyone would be desperate enough to want to be with that git."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, an angry retort at the tip of her tongue, but Harry beat her to answer.

"Well, she seems to think quite the opposite. Hermione just told her the pretty bad picture she was doing of herself and the girl thought that 'Mione was jealous! Could you believe that?"

Ron was open mouthed; he did a disgusted face at the image.

"No way! Has she gone mad?"

Harry shrugged and Hermione made an effort to calm herself and not reveal the truth to her friends in an outburst.

"Yeah, well, she's a stupid girl, she even told me that I wasn't good enough because I'm a muggleborn! As if that was…! A really important thing to take into consideration."

Hermione then realized the real intensity of the insult the girl had made her. Febe hadn't called her a mudblood right along, but she had been pretty close to it. Harry and Ron seemed to be considering this too, though Ron was more shocked than thinking of the implications.

"She really told you that?"

"Yes." Said Harry "And here I was, thinking that the Slytherins were the only ones that made that kind of discrimination."

Ron was about to open his mouth again when Ginny and Dean interrupted them.

"Harry! Professor Dumbledore says that he wants to talk with you. In the room of requirement!" Said Ginny excitedly. Harry took a look at his watch and paled.

"Shit! It's late! I had already told Dumbledore that I'd see him today! See you guys!" and he took a run over the stairs and into the castle.

Ginny saw that Ron and Hermione were on speaking terms again and considered the moment to be a perfect opportunity for her brother to make things better between them, so she grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him to the castle too.

"Come on Dean! Let's find Lauren, we have to go and water our plants for Neville's group, remember?"

Dean made an agonized gesture, but followed the red head out of sight. Hermione sighed and was about to reinitiate her way to Gryffindor tower, when Ron touched her shoulder to stop her.

"'Mione, wait! Um… Don't you want to take a walk around?"

Hermione flinched at the touch, quickly looking for an excuse to make.

"Err… no Ron. I'm tired and…"

"Please Hermione!" Ron interrupted her and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the castle's entrance. "I'm really tired of you avoiding me, and with all this mess of N.E.W.T.S. and work and projects and House Unity, we really hadn't had much time to share. And… well… I just think we should talk… please?"

Hermione sighed in defeat, she really didn't want to be confronted by Ron about her feelings, but on the other hand she thought it was best to get over it and be sincere to him.

"Ok Ron, let's talk." And both of them took a walk around the grounds.

* * *

There was a certain field in the castle's grounds which had a fair amount of statues and large stones lying around, seemingly without order, many of them were perfect to lie down and took the sun like lizards, or simply watch at the sky. Malfoy was doing that exactly, lying on a rectangular stone, willing his mind to stay quiet and shut down for a moment. He was succeeding in falling asleep when his peace was interrupted by a girl's voice at his side.

"Well, well, well. I never took you Malfoy for the peaceful one. You always seemed to be surrounded by your Slytherin cronies or by your girl admirers, always trying to be the center of attention."

Malfoy groaned, being the center of attention at that moment was the farthest thing in his mind. Why couldn't the world leave him alone for just a few minutes?

"Hello Patil. Didn't know you were looking for me. If I had I certainly wouldn't be here."

Parvati smiled and took a sit at the stone, looking at the extended amount of field in front of her, the forbidden forest ending it in the distance.

"My sister says that we should get rid of you as soon as we can. The way I see it, it wouldn't make much of a difference. After all, if you really wished to betray us, Harry and his two pets would already be on my back."

"Maybe I just want to wait a little longer."

"I was really surprised to see you here after Christmas. You were the last person I had expected to betray his beliefs so thoroughly. I still don't believe it."

"Like I give a damn Patil. Believe what you want."

The girl twisted in her seat to look at him, narrowing her eyes, Malfoy made no effort to sit up.

"I know you're plotting something Malfoy, you won't make me believe that you have thrown away the magnificent position of power that was reserved for you at the Dark Lord's side. You're not stupid. Perhaps you are waiting for the right time, or maybe you're plotting some way to bring down Dumbledore and Potter before the Dark Lord strikes. You only need to gain the Headmaster's trust. That would explain why you're putting up with his ridiculous ideas for unity."

Malfoy smirked, not changing his comfortable lying posture in the stone.

"You're so sure of yourself Patil. What if I already told Dumbledore all the names I know, and he's just waiting for you to make one wrong movement?"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh Malfoy. The Headmaster has no idea of what's under his roof. So far he hasn't been able to discover us; he probably thinks that Hogwarts is safe and free of potential spies, now that the majority of the Slytherins are out of it. He's just an old fool!"

Malfoy asked himself what had happened with the intelligence of the students. Everyone knew that the fact that Dumbledore acted foolish didn't mean he was really a fool; the man was quite clever and had his own plots in mind.

'_Perhaps not so clever.'_ Malfoy thought '_after all, he still hasn't discovered my godfather.'_ He closed his eyes and sighed.

"So, you only came here to share your thoughts Patil? Or you have something else in mind?"

There was silence for a moment and then Malfoy felt the girl moving over him and wet lips pressed softly but insistent onto his. He opened his eyes, she wasn't so bad, but somehow this didn't seem right, he decided that he didn't want to be kissing one of the Patil twins and tried to get his hands onto her shoulders to push her away, but Parvati ended the kiss before he could do it, a sensual smile answered his scowl.

'_No, please not another one!'_ he thought painfully, he had more than enough with Shatkins following him everywhere; the Gryffindor seemed to guess his thoughts because she laughed merrily.

"Oh, don't worry Malfoy! I'm not about to chase you around the school, lowering myself to beg a night in your bed. I'm not that pathetic!"

'_Thank Merlin for small favors!'_ Malfoy almost sighed in relief, though he didn't know what had gotten into him to refuse a perfectly good kiss, he remembered Parvati was not so bad in bed, but for some reason he just didn't want to be with any other girl than Granger. That was a disturbing thought and he put it away in favor of sit up and glare to the girl in front of him.

"Good! One stubborn bitch in heat following me is more than enough! Is that all you wanted?"

Parvati's smile never left her face; he stood up and looked at him a last time.

"Yes, for old time's sake. And to warn you Malfoy, don't do anything stupid, we'll be watching you."

He watched her retreating form until she was out of sight and stood too. Well, his suspicions had proven true after all, the Patil twins just had to be together, whatever one did, you could be sure the other was right behind. This was turning more dangerous, and they were being careless, maybe the Dark Lord did plan to strike Hogwarts soon? He hoped not, he wanted to finish the term at the very least.

He brushed his lips with his sleeve absentmindedly, he didn't like the easiness with which Parvati approached him, but so far she had been the only one who didn't put on stupid shows of masks or false bravado, it should be the Gryffindor side of her.

Talking about Gryffindors, he was about to start walking up to the castle when he heard two familiar voices approaching. He hid behind a curious statue of a cackling witch and waited. Soon enough, Granger and Weasley appeared and Draco could hear better their conversation.

"But why not 'Mione? We have known each other for years! You know we have made more than a friendship! Why don't you want to make it official?"

"Ron, you're not listening! We're very close friends and you're very important to me, but I really want for us to remain just friends, I don't think we'll function as a couple, I just don't see you as my boyfriend. Please, I don't want our friendship to end."

"I don't get it Hermione!" said a frustrated Ron shocking his head; Malfoy smirked while he watched the pair stop a few meters from him.

"If I'm so important to you, then why can't we be a couple? I swear to you I have every intention to marry you!"

Malfoy could see Hermione's shocked expression and almost laughed at it.

"I don't want to marry you Ron!" she said, looking seriously at her friend. "I'm not expecting a commitment from you, or anyone! We're still young; you surely don't want to be married yet."

"Why not? We're seventeen already!"

"The fact that we are of age, doesn't mean that we have to be married right away. Believe me Ron, we're better as friends."

"How can you know that? It can be better!"

"Just trust me Ron, ok? It can't be better than this."

Hermione was ready to turn away, considering the conversation finished, and Malfoy was already searching a way to get to the castle without being seen, when Ron grabbed the girl by the arms and pulled her to him.

"Ron!"

"Maybe all you need is a little push."

And then Ron was kissing Hermione's lips almost forcefully to the girl's and Malfoy's utter shock. The blonde's anger immediately surged. That idiot! Imbecile! Son of a bitch didn't have any right to touch her! He took his wand out and before his brain could protest the 'Impedimenta' was out of his lips. Almost at the same time Hermione reacted and pushed Ron away from her, giving him a blow to the face, the girl's fist and Malfoy's spell hit at the same time and Ron collapsed on the ground. Hermione was shaking badly and didn't register Malfoy's presence until he stepped over Ron and took her by the arms, looking directly into her brown eyes.

"Granger! What exactly was that?"

Hermione looked at him, her brain still in shock; she couldn't process what exactly had happened yet, so she only answered the first word that was in her mind.

"Kiss?"

"I know that damn it! What was the weasel doing here with you!"

Hermione clung to Malfoy's arms like a life line and the blond arched his eyebrow, finally taking in the state the girl was in.

"Granger? Are you all right?"

"Y-yes. Fine. I just… wasn't expecting that."

As the girl calmed down, Malfoy cooled a little and realized what he was doing.

'_Shit! Well, I really screwed it now!'_

There was really nothing to do about it, so he decided he could as well take it all the way down, he took Hermione's head by the sides and his fingers intertwined themselves in her hair, making her look up to him expectantly, and he leaned down to kiss her. Hermione gave a gasp of surprise, but soon she gave into the kiss and opened her mouth to allow him entrance. Draco deepened the kiss possessively, his tongue exploring everything inside her mouth, wanting her to forget the weasel's feeling and only to remember his.

When they finally broke apart for breath she was thinking straight again and pushed Malfoy a little without much feeling behind it.

"I thought you said that we could be with anyone we wanted."

"Yes, well, I changed my mind."

"Oh? And your pretty Hufflepuff has changed her mind too?"

Draco made a disgusted face at the mention of Febe, but he didn't take his eyes from Hermione's.

"I'll make her change it. I'll hex her if that's what you want."

Hermione raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You really mean it?"

"I do."

And he kissed her again; one hand moving to her waist to pull her more into him, her arms went to his waist and hugged him. He trailed kisses along her jaw and breathed in her neck.

"You're mine Granger. I don't want any of those idiots putting their hands on you again."

"You're quite possessive aren't you?"

"Yes."

Hermione didn't protest anymore, at the moment she was feeling like everything was going back to the way it should be. They still wouldn't tell anyone of their little affair, but that was ok, she really didn't want anyone to know about it just yet, she had realized it would be more dangerous to him than to her, even when Draco seemed to think the opposite. After a while, Hermione pointed out that Ron should wake soon from the hex Malfoy threw at him and the blond idly suggested that he could just hex the red- head again, but Hermione preferred to leave Ron where he was and return to the castle. It was getting dark anyway, so they left their separate ways, promising to meet later at the usual place.

* * *

Dinner was altogether a miserable experience, Ron had wanted Harry to sit with him away from Hermione, which the brunette didn't want to do because it would mean leaving her to sit beside Malfoy alone, Ron didn't know that he had been hexed and was blaming his fall unto unconsciousness to the blow Hermione had given him. He was glaring daggers at her when they arrived to the Great Hall, Harry in the middle of both and wanting the floor to open and shallow him. Then Malfoy had been his nasty self and had commented about Ron's purple eye, the Gryffindor shouted every foul word he knew to the Slytherin and left the Great Hall leaving everybody openmouthed. Of course Ginny and Harry spent the entire dinner trying to coax from Hermione what had happened, but she only told them that she and Ron probably wouldn't be on speaking terms for a while again.

All in all she managed to finish eating and escape everybody to hide in her room until it was time to go to see Malfoy. She was in fact happy that she would have him all to herself again, that he had been jealous enough to go and reclaim privileges, that he was possessive of her. The girl knew that maybe she was not thinking things right but she didn't care at the moment, all that mattered was that Malfoy wanted her, no other girl but her, and she wanted it to last all the time it could. She got to the bathroom to brush her teeth and her eyes discovered the contraceptive potion she had been taking since December. Hermione looked at it for a while, she should have taken it a week ago but the girl had forgotten all about it. She could take it now it was no big deal.

The Gryffindor started to think about what would happen when they finished school, she and Malfoy would still take separate ways then and probably wouldn't see each other again. And what if he thought things over and decided to stop seeing her before that? It could happen. She didn't want to let Malfoy out of her life, but if he decided to do it she'd have to live with it, and after all, Malfoy didn't want a life with her. She took the bottle and dropped its contents to the sink. She could take the chance and if something indeed happened, Malfoy didn't need to know. It would be her secret.

* * *

Hermione moaned loudly into Malfoy's mouth, feeling his hands making circles in her flanks while he moved slowly in and out in perfect synchronization with her hips, her legs were wrapped around his waist and her hands grabbing his upper arms. He moved his mouth down to her throat and sucked gently at her, he didn't change his rhythm, reveling in the feeling of her body under his, enjoying the moment without hurries.

The Gryffindor felt wonderful, she liked this, she didn't want him to go faster, she was perfectly happy feeling him like this, like no other thing in the world mattered but them. She wanted this to go on forever, for him to never stop. She felt happy and extremely right, cared for, as if he was making love to her. And in a way that was what they were doing, she recognized it in some deep part of her mind, even if none of them acknowledged it out loud, even if Draco didn't even know it; she felt it inside her for the first time in all this weeks together. They were making love.

Eventually Draco kissed her passionately and Hermione felt her insides burning with the force of it and moaned her orgasm, he followed seconds later and then lied down at her side, holding her close, both satiated and breathless, unwilling to let go just yet. They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity, until Malfoy recovered a little and muttered into her hair sleepily.

"I think we're a pretty messed up pair."

"Mmm. You know, it may seem odd but… I felt like it was the first time we were… like this… this content…" She really didn't know how to tell what she had felt without calling it love, but Draco just chuckled quietly and reaffirmed his hold around her.

"Another one? That must be a record."

He wasn't really thinking straight and she knew it, he was almost asleep, some part of her mind reminded her that she should be getting up and returning to Gryffindor tower, but she just wanted to be there with him a little more. Another part of her mind was wondering how many first times one could really have.


	15. Friendship Problem

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 15. ****Friendship problem.**

Harry was in one of the tables of Gryffindor's common room, writing down part of his DADA project along with Ron and enduring the murderous glances the red-head threw every once in a while to Hermione, who was pointedly ignoring him and working on the Transfiguration's assignment. It had been nearly a week from the 'kiss incident' and they weren't showing signs of reconciliation.

Harry sighed in frustration, he had been told by his two friends what had happened and thought that Ron was overreacting, though he had to admit that the blow Hermione gave him must have been pretty hard to have knocked him out for a while, and maybe her reaction was too harsh for only a kiss, but the fact was that Hermione felt as if Ron had trespassed on her boundaries for friendship and she was not going to forgive him easily for that.

It had been a miserable week and Harry didn't know what to do, he tended to hang out with Ron more because Hermione didn't seem too hurt with the situation, in fact, these last days she had been even cheerful, she was back to be the studious know-it-all girl everyone knew, she helped others with homework and pestered Harry for not doing the assignments correctly, the depression and sadness were gone, she even was talking to Malfoy nicely again and Harry could swear she was trying to be more friendly towards the blond. That was another thing that had Ron so furious, and it prevented the red-head from apologizing to Hermione like Ginny wanted him to do.

So they were now at Friday, barely acknowledging each other and Harry highly uncomfortable with it.

Eventually Lavender approached Hermione and both girls went to the dormitories to talk about their charms' project; once they disappeared Harry sighed and stretched his limbs.

"Ron, how long are you two planning to be like this? I'm getting tired of it."

"Why are you asking me? She was the one who knocked me out!"

"Yes" said Ginny from the nearest couch "But you kissed her against her will, you never do that to a girl Ron."

"I just wanted to show her that I wanted things to function!"

"Well" said Harry again "she didn't take it that way did she?"

Ron stubbornly crossed his arms.

"What does she want then? I told her I want to marry her; I don't know what's wrong!"

"It's just that she's the type of girl who likes to study all that she can, before getting emotionally involved with anyone."

The boys turned to Parvati, who had happily invited herself to their table, Ron looked at her with a raised brow.

"What?"

"Yes, Lavender and I think, that she is the kind of girl who thinks that an emotional affair would only get on the way of studies, you know, they prefer to finish school, have a career and a good job, before even consider to formally date someone."

Harry thought that fit pretty well with Hermione's way of acting, Ron stared open mouthed at Parvati.

"What? And how long will she want to wait?"

"Well, it depends on how ambitious she is. I'd say that you're going to wait a very long time Ron."

"Well, I'm not going to wait that long! If she doesn't want to marry me, fine! She can go and bury herself in books for all I care!"

And Ron stomped angrily to the boy's dormitories, Harry wished he had less stubborn friends, Parvati only shrugged and sat behind Harry to talk about the Potion's project until dinner time.

* * *

Severus Snape entered his private chambers with an incipient headache coming his way, those meetings with the prefects were really a waste of time, at least they were now on Fridays after dinner and not on Saturdays. He made a bee line to his liquor's stock and took out a fine brandy, sitting in his favorite chair to enjoy it. 

Things were going fairly well in school, the remaining Slytherins were doing a good job reinforcing the students sense of cooperation, in the last days Snape could clearly distinguish the ones that were still thinking of giving themselves to the Dark Lord from the rest, just two or three of the Slytherins were still maintaining that ideal, no doubt Crabbe had been talking nonsense to them, Snape didn't worry too much about the boy, Draco could handle him. As for the other houses, only Marshall had caused real problems, Snape knew that there were many students still neutral and others that have deeply ingrained pureblood prejudices, not only Slytherins, but Dumbledore's tactic was giving results, the fact that Malfoy had started to hang out more with the Granger girl and consequently tolerate Potter, had made many of the students think that it may not be so bad to overlook some petty rivalries or ancestry issues in favor of future safety. Dumbledore was right after all, the Malfoys will always be The Malfoys and Draco was still an icon for the purebloods' children and many of the half-bloods.

It would be even better if the boy decided to make his affair known to the world, Snape and Dumbledore had already talked about the possibility, but they decided it would endanger both students even more and that was at the moment an unnecessary risk, it was better that they remained like they were a little longer, working together almost as friends.

Snape had felt uneasy some weeks later when that Hufflepuff girl had been pestering Malfoy in quite an undignified way, Granger and Malfoy had not spoken to each other in friendly terms for a while then, he had been fearful that the boy had gotten tired of the bossy girl and had decided to end their not so clear relationship; thankfully Draco had ended driving the Hufflepuff away and had started to be closer to Granger. That was a change Snape was willing to encourage, after all the girl had somehow managed to get the boy out of his depressive state, Snape was sure that Malfoy was not thinking on suicide anymore, that alone was reason enough to put Granger into his good book.

Now, the only thing that was bothering Severus was Lucius. Narcissa hadn't had news from her husband in a long time, Snape knew that Malfoy senior was hiding pretty well and even was reluctant to show his face with the rest of the Death Eaters. Lucius would be a problem. If Draco were the head of the family his decisions would have more weight in the society in general, but as long as Lucius was still alive he would have more power than his son in that sector.

He would have to deal with Lucius Malfoy eventually, for now he was just glad that problems inside the school were been kept at a minimum, though he didn't understand why the Headmaster insisted in letting the students loyal to the dark side roam free, they were bombs waiting to explode, but the old man had ordered to let them be for the moment, unless there was real danger of something similar to what happened to Malfoy repeating itself. Snape doubted it, but was keeping his guard high.

He was considering all those things when the fire in his fireplace changed to a vivid green and a blond head appeared in it. Talking about the devil.

"Snape!"

"I'm here Malfoy, no need to shout. Unless you wish the entire castle hear you." Severus didn't comment on the fact that the connection could be easily tracked, he supposed that Malfoy had taken his own precautions against it.

"To hell with that!" came the angry retort. "What's that nonsense that Bellatrix told me about Draco associating with a mudblood?"

Ah, so finally word had reached him, the man had taken a full month to make his displeasure known, Snape had wondered if he was hiding in another country.

"Now, now Malfoy, there's no need to make such a display over simple 'associations'" Said Snape, inwardly thinking that shagging was a more suitable word.

"No need you say? I'm being told that he's been hanging around with that mudblood girl Granger! Maybe even befriended her! And you have let him!"

"Why do you care Malfoy? I was under the impression that you were about to disown your son."

"Don't talk nonsense to me Snape! Even if I had the means to publicly disown him he's still a Malfoy! And I still raised him! What do you think the Dark Lord would tell me, if he was to discover that my own son is letting himself being seen in such distasteful company?"

"He's not going to be so pleased eh?" said Snape mockingly, if the man knew what else Draco and the Granger girl had been doing!

"I'm sure that you'll like that Snape. But don't be so sure of yourself, you are the one inside that cursed school, maybe you are encouraging him to do all the stupid things he's doing lately!"

"Please Malfoy!" hissed Snape in faked annoyance "Do you really think that I like to see him disgracing his life? It was bad enough that you hadn't have enough authority to make him going home on Christmas, it's clear that he's defying you, and I must say he has chosen the worst moment to do it!"

Lucius was fuming in rage; his cold calculating voice could have intimidated everyone but Severus Snape.

"Then I suggest you stop him Snape, for his own good."

"I can't"

"What?"

"Actually Malfoy, Draco is not actually cultivating any kind of friendship with the Granger girl, not even an alliance for that matter, what's really happening is that Dumbledore had ordered that they were made to work together, and every teacher in this school had to make everything within his or her reach, for them to have homework and extracurricular activities together. That's why your son seems to be everyday in the girl's company."

Malfoy was speechless for about two seconds, and then the cold fury made it back to his voice.

"Are you telling me, that poor excuse of a Headmaster is ordering Draco to share his time with a mudblood? Why exactly?"

"Well, he's expecting that the students reach the same conclusion as you did and delude themselves in the idea that a Malfoy is getting along with a Gryffindor muggleborn, he's quite confident that it would raise the spirit of 'Unity' in the school. The results so far had been quite interesting, I may talk to the Dark Lord about them, I'm sure he'll find the whole situation amusing, more so because it wouldn't have happened if Draco had been where he was supposed to be on Christmas."

The calculating eyes of Malfoy narrowed and he let out a dangerous hiss.

"You are using this to get to me Snape, but it won't be so easy. The Dark Lord would have his new weapon soon and you and I would have our little chat then. When Hogwarts had fallen."

"I'm looking forward to it Lucius, I truly am."

Malfoy opened his mouth to say something more but gave a hiss of pain instead; Snape clutched at his left wrist at the same time and in matter of seconds Lucius' head was gone from the fire and Snape was running outside his chambers.

* * *

It was a little past midnight when Hermione finally entered Gryffindor's common room, she and Malfoy had taken advantage of the fact that Ron didn't wait for her at the end of the prefect's meeting. Hermione felt very happy and wanted to get to her room quickly to catch some sleep when a whimper from one of the couches stopped her, cautiously she approached the sofa near the fireplace, the whimpering was low but distinguishable, someone must be asleep on the sofa, she rounded it and found the restless figure of Harry, he still had his Potions text on his hands and was clutching it in his sleep, the frown and the sweat on his face worried her, she took her friend's shoulder and shook him. 

"Harry, Harry wake up!"

The boy opened his eyes and gasped, he immediately sat up and threw the book in the process, Hermione didn't move, she stared into the emerald eyes of her friend and could perceive as the terror and shock in them slowly gave way to recognition.

"'Mione. W-what…?"

Harry blinked and relaxed in the sofa, he rubbed his eyes and tried to put order in his thoughts.

"Are you all right Harry?"

"Y-yes. Just… fall asleep… what time is it?"

"Past midnight. Are you sure you are ok? You are a little pale."

She sat beside him and could feel his body shivering.

"You had a bad dream?"

"Kind of… it was confusing. I have the feeling that Voldemort is up to something big, but I can't decipher what it is."

Harry never quite managed to block his mind completely to Voldemort, but now he only had sporadic nightmares that didn't make much sense, Hermione sympathized with him and took his hands in hers, trying to comfort him, Harry sighed and smiled to his friend.

"I wish I could be sure that all of you are going to be fine."

She smiled back to him, wishing she could be sure too.

"You don't have to worry about us, you have to continue your training with Dumbledore. I'm sure that you can defeat Voldemort Harry, and your friends are going to help you, we won't leave you alone"

"Thanks 'Mione, you're the best."

Harry moved and gave her a hug of gratitude, she relaxed a little in his arms and returned the embrace, she felt his lips brushed her temple tenderly and then his cheek rested on her head.

"So, this is why you insisted so much in that I should leave her alone, no? My so called friend!"

Hermione and Harry turned to the stairs that lead to the boy's dormitories to see a very angry Ron, Harry was confused for a second.

"Ron, what's the matter?"

"What's the matter! And you still have the guts to ask! It's obvious that I interrupted a very good moment!"

"What are you talking about?" said Harry starting to get annoyed; he and Hermione stood up to face Ron who was nearly shaking with rage. Hermione tried to explain things.

"Ron, we were just talking, Harry just had a nightmare and I…"

"Oh, and you just feel the need to comfort him don't you? Maybe Harry will be having nightmares on the couch more often! That seems to get him a good snogging session in reward!"

"Ron!" Hermione was scandalized, Harry glared at his friend.

"You idiot. I fell asleep! Hermione just went down from the dormitories and she found me!"

"Oh yeah? She doesn't look like she was in her room to me; she looks more like one that had been having a good time! Maybe she even has a hickie or two!"

"Are you out of your mind Ron? What gave you such a ridiculous idea?"

Hermione blushed furiously, obviously Harry hadn't had time to notice that she was still wearing her uniform, or the flustered and generally disarrayed state she was in, she was just the picture of someone that had been snogging in a corner, obviously Ron was in the perfect position to notice all this.

"Don't try to play ignorant with me Harry! You want to have her? Fine! It's clear that she thinks you are better than me! Maybe it's just that you are a seeker like Victor Krum! Now you can tell me how it feels to be second in line to someone!"

Harry launched himself at Ron and both of them rolled in the floor, Hermione didn't know what to do, she could hear the sound of people in the dormitories starting to wake up and was absolutely sure that her appearance at the moment wouldn't be helpful, she quickly made a few spells to arrange her uniform and hair, so that she could tell that she had been studying in her desk at her room, she also spirited away the red mark on her neck that she did have and finally threw a spell to her two friends, effectively separating them, the first curious Gryffindors were already downstairs, eager to know what was causing all the noise.

"Stop you two! This is ridiculous!"

Ron glared at her and said viciously

"Of course you'll see it ridiculous, you have already decided! You could at least tell me that you think he is better than me! Just like everyone else!"

In the deadly silence that followed they could hear a faint whisper that said: "And who wouldn't?" Ron turned around and stomped upstairs, pushing rudely away every student that got in his way.

Hermione was shaking, her knuckles were white from clutching her fists, she wanted to scream from frustration.

"That idiot!" she said and climbed the stairs to her own room, leaving Harry to try and explain the mess.

* * *

Draco was stirring slowly the potion he and Granger were working at, while the girl added the last ingredient, just two drops of unicorn tears, he looked while the potion became the emerald green it was supposed to be, he just needed to stir it a few minutes more for it to have the perfect consistency, while he was at it he looked at where professor Sinistra was supervising Potter's and a Ravenclaw's potion. 

Professor Snape had been absent for a week now and Malfoy had an idea of where he was, or more exactly with whom, and that was nagging at him, he didn't like the feeling of unease that had been plaguing him since he discovered that his godfather was gone. It was disconcerting, he knew something big must have been happening, but so far the Daily Prophet hadn't reported anything of importance and Dumbledore didn't seem worried about his Potions master's disappearance, the Headmaster was being his usual self and the only explanation the students were given about their professor's absence was that he had gone to an important convention.

The junior Death Eaters had also been awfully quiet, Draco had surprised them once in a while interchanging glances over breakfast, and he suspected they were waiting for something. He caught the Gryffindor half of the Patil twins looking at the general direction of Potter and scowled, she had an odd look of contentment in her eyes that Draco didn't like, it reminded him of Granger's cat after having killed some unfortunate lizard. All the week Parvati had seemed too satisfied with herself, although very few noticed it, Draco suspected it was because of the recent rupture of the golden trio, Parvati had been one of the most diligent in encouraging all the gossip that had spread in the castle.

That was another thing that worsened Draco's mood, he had have a go with Hermione when she told him what had happened, and he was still fuming over the fact that Potter had indeed being hugging her. Parvati surely was glad that the three friends were having troubles and undoubtedly was doing her part to help breaking the golden friendship apart, several times in the week she had gone and congratulated Granger publicly for having dumping Ron and let out little comments about how nice Potter was. Malfoy wanted to strangle her, he had spent the last two nights plotting a way to throw Potter from the Astronomy tower and make it look like suicide. He wanted so badly to make sure that Granger really hadn't any feeling for the insufferable prat that he was on the verge of being violent.

He could tell that Hermione was nervous, the girl had been checking his every move towards Potter, but Draco had made his mind that he wouldn't act his jealousy again, at least not directly, it had been embarrassing to do it once, he had never acted like that, he was sure that if any of the Slytherins knew of it they'll laugh their brains out. Draco Malfoy was never jealous over a woman. But that didn't stop him from being a possessive prat, he really felt like murdering Potter.

Professor Sinistra went over to their cauldron and gave them a look of approval, then instructed everybody to bottle samples of their potions and dismissed the class. Granger waited until Draco returned from the professor's desk to shoulder the schoolbag. He looked at her, ready to say a polite goodbye like always.

"Malfoy, do you have time before dinner? We have to finish the first report for the Arithmancy project."

"Fine. I'll see you at the library."

He answered a bit coldly; she sighed and wondered what had gotten into her to accept the arrangement they had. Harry appeared at her side and Malfoy scowled, murderous thoughts were back in his head.

"Come on 'Mione, we have Transfiguration next."

"I'm coming Harry. Well Malfoy, in the library later."

Malfoy nodded and Harry made a start of surprise.

"What? What are you meeting with him for?"

Malfoy looked at him, not amused in the least.

"We have a project to do Potter, you should know it by now seeing that you and the weasel had seen fit to be a nuisance all the bloody time we had to meet."

"Well, you could as well write a part of it and then deliver it to Hermione!"

"Harry!"

"What? That would be easy enough and we wouldn't have to endure his company at least half the time we are in the library!"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

"And I bet you'll be too glad for it, yes Potter?"

"Well, quite" said Harry nonchalantly.

"Of course, you'll enjoy a little time alone with your mudblood girlfriend, now that you finally got ridden of the red-headed scum. That really was an improvement; at least it would be one less pain in the ass for me."

He managed to put every bit of his bottled venom in that comment and smirk almost pleasantly, the effect was quite impressive. Granger gave him an annoyed look, Harry went scarlet and glared daggers at him, he was ready to hex Malfoy into next year.

"Shut up Malfoy! You…!"

"Save it Potter, I don't care about your pathetic love life. Don't be late Granger I hate to wait."

With that Malfoy turned and left, leaving Harry ready to explode.

"I don't have a Love Life! The son of a bitch! I'll throttle him!"

"Harry, wait!"

Hermione managed to catch Harry's arm before he got out of the door and forced him to walk slowly to their next class.

"Harry please! You're overreacting! He said pretty much what everybody has been saying this week!"

"Oh yes! But he says it different, and he called you a mudblood and insulted Ron! He's asking for a fight Hermione!"

The girl had to accept that Malfoy indeed was looking for trouble, it wasn't the first time he did something like this, in fact he had been poking at Harry the entire week and the brunette was fed up with it. But for the life of her, Hermione didn't have a clue of why Malfoy was doing it. She had explained quite clearly what had really happened and she had expected that Malfoy wouldn't take it the wrong way. So much for expectations. She didn't understand his reaction, they were doing pretty well, Harry had even started to consider Malfoy in a different light, now it was all ruined and she was inwardly cursing Ron for starting this mess.

She decided to have a long talk with Draco, she wanted him and Harry to make peace and work together, it won't be any good if they continued fighting like this. She managed to make Harry relax and spent transfiguration thinking how she could get more sense into Malfoy's head.

* * *

Hermione arrived at the library alone, Harry had been called by McGonagall and promised to catch her as soon as possible, she really didn't mind it. Malfoy was already in one of the tables, all by himself, with his studying supplies and a heavy book in front of him, Hermione approached the table and sat in front of the blond, getting her things ready, she noticed three schoolbags already occupying another chairs in the table and supposed the rest of the Slytherins must be looking for some books. Malfoy spared her a glance and returned his sight to the Advanced Arithmancy book. 

"What Granger? No lover boy?"

She opened one of her books with unnecessary force and hissed at him.

"Stop it Malfoy! You know very well that Harry is just a friend. Why are you doing this? You're being all aggressive to both of us and you have no cause to be like that!"

He lifted his grey eyes to her, his mind diverted a little on how pretty her brown eyes sparkled and then pictured her on the sofa in Potter's arms, he scowled and hissed back.

"Maybe you'll be more comfortable in your common room Granger? We only have to put this together; we don't need to be here more than a few minutes and then you can have all the hugs from Potter that you want."

Hermione's eyes widened, for a fleeting moment she felt as if they were having one of those useless fights that couples always have over nothing important and that she always had considered ridiculous, the thought almost made her laugh, maybe all this playing and pretending of their nights together had finally gotten into them. She arched an eyebrow at Draco and asked slowly.

"Are you jealous of him?"

Malfoy hissed indignantly almost too fast.

"Don't be ridiculous! Why should I be?"

"Well then stop acting like a prat! We look like lovers having a fight! It's useless and we… we…!"

They both fell silent and stared into each others eyes, realizing for the first time that neither of them had any idea of what exactly they were playing at. This wasn't right, Malfoy sighed and relaxed in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, neither one wanted to talk about the tense situation they were in and both knew it. Hermione made an effort to give a turn to the conversation.

"It really doesn't help if you and Harry fight all the time. The war is over us, if you two work together you could help each other and it would be a great advantage for all of us."

"You talk as if anything we do would make any difference."

"Malfoy it does make a difference! Please, you have to believe it!"

Draco wanted to agree with her, the problem was that he really didn't think that they could have any chance against the Dark Lord, Blaise's arrival saved him from answering, the boy dumped his load of books and took a seat.

"Could you believe it? Every good book of Herbology is gone! Hi Granger, no escort today?"

"Well…"

She was interrupted by the abrupt arrival of Harry, who dumped his things and sat hurriedly.

"Sorry Hermione, I had to go to the common room for something."

The other three occupants of the table shared some seconds of shocked silence, three pairs of eyes fixed in the pitch black skin Potter was sporting, the arrival of Goyle and his Hufflepuff friend broke the moment, as they dumped their respective loads of books and proceeded to stare at Potter too, the girl couldn't help to start giggling. Harry was not only black skinned, his hair was covered in what seemed grey powder and looked spooky. Blaise snickered and raised an eyebrow.

"Had it something to do with cleaning a chimney Potter?"

The brunette glared daggers at the Slytherin, at his side Hermione was doing her best to keep a straight face and not lash in anger, she was sure that this was Ron's doing. Malfoy gave Harry an evil smirk.

"Really Potter, if you're trying to get us thrown out from the library you're doing a fine job of it."

"Shut up Malfoy!"

Madam Pince was instantly at the table side, glaring at Harry with disapproval.

"Young man, what do you think you're doing? You can't be in here like that! You'll damage the books! Go out to clean yourself immediately!"

"But it won't damage the books, it's glued to me! I can't clean it!"

"Then you can't enter this place until you're free of all that disgusting dirt! Now go!"

"But…"

"Now! And that would be twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"Twenty?"

"Twenty five!"

Harry took his school bag hurriedly and tried to make Hermione go with him, but Madam Pince took him by the arm and dragged him outside her precious library, Hermione debated for a moment if she should follow when Malfoy's voice reached to her.

"Well Granger, I have to change my mind. Potter could really kill anyone from a good laugh."

She glared at the blond boy and attempted to give him a kick under the table that he avoided, but she decided to stay and finish the report. She was sad that Ron was making things so difficult, she wanted to find a way to make the red-head and Harry friends again, but that would have to wait, first she wanted to sort out her feelings for Malfoy and get the blond to talk about it. Hermione was fearful of doing it, she wasn't even sure if Draco had any feelings at all for her or if he was merely being possessive over his current shag, she very much wanted to let things go and work out by themselves, but she knew that they would have to talk sooner or later. She preferred it to be later.

* * *

Draco poked at his breakfast with a worried expression, it was Monday already and professor Snape wasn't back yet, though the Slytherins seemed to be the only ones that truly noticed his absence. Everyone was still enthralled by the gossip surrounding the golden trio. Just on Sunday had been a match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the winner would play against Slytherin for the Quidditch cup; predictably Gryffindor had won, but only because Potter had been lucky enough to catch the snitch first, the lions had been loosing by 110 points when that happened, all because Weasley was being a stubborn idiot and had decided to ignore Potter's instructions, and the Ravenclaws were having the goal posts practically free. 

From what Malfoy had heard and what Granger had told him, the atmosphere in Gryffindor was really tense and in an effort to make Ron see that he was in the wrong, the girl had opted for detaching herself and she spent the weekend as far away from Harry as she could, that however seemed to have enraged Weasley even more, and to top it all, Parvati had started the rumor that Harry had promised Hermione to marry her when the school term finished, so that they won't have to deal with Ron's jealousy any more.

Granger was very angry on Sunday night while she talked with Malfoy, she was sure that Parvati would be very happy if Potter and Weasley killed each other. Malfoy agreed with her in that fact, but while he was glad that Hermione had put some distance between herself and Potter, he didn't like to see her alone. Potter was a pain in the ass but at least he was useful to keep Hermione somewhat safe, despite the many problems the golden boy seemed to attract. Draco wanted Hermione safe; he could deal with her friendship with Potter as long as the prat kept his hands to himself. He ended up promising the bushy haired girl to think of a way to shut Parvati up.

Now however Malfoy was more worried about his godfather, what could have happened to keep him away from his spying duties at Hogwarts for more than a week? Malfoy could tell that even Dumbledore was starting to look worried. He sighed in frustration and looked over to Gryffindor table. Granger had just arrived and was talking with Lavender Brown. Draco returned to stare at his breakfast until the owls arrived and a copy of the Daily Prophet landed at his side, he looked at it absent mindedly and took him a couple of seconds to register the big title on the front page, his eyes widened and he gasped in shock. He wasn't the only one.

* * *

Hermione was listening to Lavender's chat without paying much attention to it, Harry was a few seats away, trying to make Ginny understand that he and Hermione were just friends, so far the female Weasley had been avoiding them and was deeply hurt that Hermione didn't want to be her brother's fiancé; she even was being a little nasty. Hermione didn't care at the moment, she had more important things to occupy her mind than the stupid attitude of some of her friends, she had had a really complicated weekend trying to make Malfoy drop the subject of Harry's friendly hug, and she asked herself why everybody had to make such a big problem from something so little. 

Hermione sighed in frustration, some part of her brain was toying with the theory that Malfoy had voiced his discomfort loudly, merely to keep his mind off the fact that Snape had been absent for a week, without much success. She started to poke at her breakfast half heartedly, all the thinking she had done over the weekend hadn't help her to define exactly what she felt about Malfoy, the only thing she was sure about was that she liked him so much and that she didn't want to share him with other girls, she felt horrible when she thought about stop seeing him, Hermione wasn't sure if that could be called love or if it was simply obsession.

She was thinking about that when the owls entered the Great Hall, and a general exclamation of surprise brought her back to reality, she blinked and noticed the incredulous and horrified faces of her housemates as they read the news, with a horrible suspicion creeping in her mind she quietly took the copy of the Daily Prophet that an owl had left in front of her. The front page read:

_AN ENTIRE SECTOR OF MUGGLE LONDON_ _GONE!_

_This Sunday afternoon the Dark Mark could be seen above the remains of what had been three neighborhoods in muggle London. The Aurors had mixed themselves with the muggle police and rescue teams that arrived to the destroyed area, searching for any survivors of the tragedy._

_Nobody seems to know what happened exactly …_

Hermione stopped reading, her hands were trembling uncontrollably, she started to hear hysterical cries of some students, she quickly scanned the article, the words "_No Survivors"_ jumped immediately to her, and then the names of the neighborhoods and streets that had been wiped out of London. Her eyes fixed in a name and she stared in shock at the paper in front of her, she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a low voice in her ear.

"I'm so sorry Hermione. That was your neighborhood, yes? It's a terrible tragedy."

Hermione didn't answer, she didn't even turn to see who was talking to her, she stood up and walked hurriedly outside the Great Hall, not even aware of where she was heading.

* * *

Draco read the paper in quiet shock, three neighborhoods of muggle London completely gone, with no survivors; he reached the part where it said that the list of victims was incomplete, due to the unrecognizable state of some of the bodies, and immediately turned to Gryffindor table. There was panicked chaos in the Great Hall, but he could distinguish Hermione's face, which was paper white. Malfoy bit his lip, not sure of what to do, he sensed she needed support and automatically searched Potter to see what the boy was doing, when he saw Parvati stood and approach Granger. Draco watched as Patil told something in the ear of the Head Girl, and suddenly Granger stood and walked away. 

Granger wasn't the only one deserting the Great Hall, some other students were running out in tears, Potter and Weasley ran away too, presumably to find their friend. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Parvati wondering what she had said to Hermione, the bitch was smiling, that wasn't good. He half heard Blaise's voice commenting something and he turned his attention to his Slytherin friend.

"Granger must be very upset. I think that her home is in London."

"How do you know?" asked Malfoy.

"Well, last year in Ancient Runes professor Derriell was talking about the numerous artifacts that were destroyed while building up London and Granger commented something to a Ravenclaw about living in a big city where no one believed in magic."

Malfoy had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, he took the Prophet again and looked for the list of victims that could be identified, he scanned it quickly and his eyes stopped in the name "_Dr. Granger and possibly family"_

He blinked a few times, willing the name to change into another one and finally gave up, he turned to the doors of the Great Hall and suddenly knew where Granger was heading to. Malfoy remembered the unfocussed look she had had when she stood from the table and decided that he couldn't leave her alone, he was pretty sure that Potter and Weasley wouldn't be able to find her and so he stood and walked out of the Great Hall, lost in the general confusion and grieving that Dumbledore was futilely trying to ease.

Draco walked all the way to the dungeons taking great care in not being followed; eventually he reached the Medusa statue and opened the secret entrance to walk into his private haven. It was dark inside, but he could hear quiet sobs from a distant corner, he walked to the sound not bothering in lighting the torches, he knew every detail of the room to heart and had no problems approaching the crying girl that was curled on the floor. He sat beside her and surrounded her trembling body with his arms, coaxing her to move. Soon he felt her hands reaching to him and slowly maneuvered them both so she could sit on his lap, one of her arms went around his back, the other one over his chest, clinging to him like a life line, her head rested on the juncture of his neck and shoulder and he kissed her temple and hugged her tightly, not knowing what else to do.

It was a new situation for him, he had never comforted anyone, Pansy's tantrums had always been explosive, she yelled a lot but never had cried on his shoulder looking for comfort, no one had ever done it.

Draco would have liked to say something to make Hermione stop crying and feel better, but he didn't know what to say, he had only a vague idea of what she must be feeling but that wasn't enough. He'd like to tell her that everything was going to be ok, that things were going to get better and that he would be with her always, but somehow all those words seemed like a lie and he didn't want to be lying at her. So he only held her tightly in the dark, patiently waiting until she stopped crying.


	16. Dealing with reality

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 16. Dealing with reality.**

It was past lunch time when Hermione finally returned to Gryffindor tower, Malfoy had stayed with her the whole time and she was very grateful for it, he hadn't know what to say to her but that was irrelevant, his sole presence was enough to make her feel better, she was also grateful that classes had been suspended for the day, she wasn't ready to fit into her routine and pretend nothing happened yet, she was still shaken to the core and wanted to hide in her room and die.

That however was not going to happen, because as soon as she set foot in the common room a very worried Harry and a guilty Ron were over her, along with some other Gryffindors.

"Hermione! Where were you? We looked everywhere for you!" said Harry hugging her, she felt the tears coming back to her eyes as he dragged her to a sofa. Ron sat beside her and tried to utter something sensible.

"Are you all right 'Mione? I-I'm so sorry…"

That did it, she started crying again and her friends hugged her to show their support.

After a while, Hermione remembered that she was not the only one who had lost family, and made an effort to control her tears and look around her. All the Gryffindors seemed pretty upset, many were still sobbing. For the first time Hermione put real attention in all the faces that were around her and looked intently into Parvati's eyes, at that moment it became evident to her that Parvati's sorrow was not sincere, Hermione was horrified when she realized that Parvati was not the only one faking sympathy, she could spot at least another two of her housemates watching her dispassionately. Anger built into her and she wiped her tears, determined to not give them more satisfaction.

"Sorry… I'm fine… you don't have to worry about me…"

"Oh Hermione!" Ginny practically launched to her and gave her a tight hug. "I'm so sorry! I've been awful these days! Please forgive me!"

"It's ok Ginny…"

"We are here for whatever you want Hermione, you're not alone."

"Thanks."

Harry took one of her hands and stared into her eyes.

"I promise you Hermione that I'll make them pay for this."

"Thank you Harry."

Ron was a little uncomfortable; he tried to talk as low as possible.

"Mmm… Herm… you know, I-I don't really care that you date Harry. It's ok if you both want to. I'm fine with it."

Harry rolled his eyes and Hermione sighed in frustration, she answered to his friend just because she wanted to set things right.

"Ron, there's nothing between me and Harry. We have absolutely no intention to be anything but friends."

"Really?"

"Of course you twit!" said Harry "That's what we have been trying to make you understand the entire week!"

"Oh"

Ron was deeply embarrassed; Hermione attempted a sad smile at her friends and then excused herself to go to her dormitory, saying that she wanted to sleep a little.

The moment she closed the door of her bedroom and put locking and silencing charms on it, she started to cry hysterically. Suddenly she reached a state of fury and gave a loud pained cry, then proceeded to grab the nearest book from her desk and threw it to her dresser; the lamp from the bedside table followed and soon every kind of things were flying and crashing around the room.

Her outburst lasted only a few seconds and then she collapsed on the bed, curling on her right side and sobbing uncontrollably, all the comforting words of her friends had only made her feel worse, they had seemed empty, uttered in pity more than support. At least Malfoy had had the presence of mind to not pity her. Crookshanks emerged from under the bed, where he had seek refuge from her short lived destructive state, and looking at her warily finally jumped to her side and rubbed his head on her arm, she let him cuddle in front of her and started petting him, soon the purring noises of the cat lulled her to an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Draco secluded himself in his room all the afternoon and had attempted to put order in the emotional wreck that was his brain, the image of Hermione crying on his arms wouldn't leave him alone, she had needed comfort and he had felt ashamedly incapacitated to give it successfully. Oh, she had thanked him for being with her, but he had done nothing to reassure her.

After all, what reassurance could he have given her? Why would she want him to comfort her? His entire family was self-righteous, proud, narrow-minded dark wizards; all of them active supporters of the prejudice that had left her homeless and orphan. He had shared that prejudice once, when he still admired his father and accepted his words and orders blindly without question. He still called her mudblood on occasion, more to make Potter mad or to annoy her than really meaning it, but the word was there all the same, he hadn't gotten rid of it.

He liked the Granger girl, he slept with her, and he even accepted to himself that he cared about her, but she was still different from him. It wasn't easy to get rid of conceptions that had been fed up to you since birthday, they were so deeply ingrained in the mind, that even when you recognized them as ridiculous or wrong, they still tainted your vision of life and sooner or later forced you to acknowledge them.

To Draco's tainted mind Hermione was different from him, and she knew it too, he could tell she sensed it, the way he saw her, he knew that she was convinced of the fact that he would never see her more than a mere sex partner, worthy of having his body but not his affection; they could spend glorious nights together but not a lifetime in love. And that certainly had been the case at the beginning, Malfoy had assured himself that he wanted no more from her than a good shag, he had been convinced that she wanted the same from him. But later, as he got to know her, somehow they had achieved not only sex but intimacy: they pried into each other's lives, reluctantly but enough to see what lied behind their respective façades and they had liked it, they had started to care for each other.

Malfoy hadn't liked to see her crying, hadn't liked the idea of her being alone and parentless, and less of all the idea of his family being responsible for it; because at least his father was sure to have actively participated in the tragedy, Draco had no doubts about it. He was angry at himself for not had been capable of making her feel better, he was angry for not being strong enough to accept his feelings.

'_I'm not my family… but so much like them…'_

His family had murdered hers. Why would she want to even see him now? Why would he care? She was a mudblood, even if he changed the word for muggleborn it still labeled someone different, it still sounded '_not pure'_ to him.

'_I'm a worthless piece of shit.'_

Malfoy fell on his bed, tired of arguing with himself, tired of denying the truth. He wanted to be honest. He sighed and finally accepted the reality. Yes, Hermione Granger was a mudblood and it was irrelevant for him now, he cared for her, he was slowly falling for her and he wanted her to be happy and loved… Ok, that wasn't entirely true. He wanted to be the one to make her happy, and most of all; he wanted her to love him. He would fight to earn that privilege, and he would never let any harm come to her again.

* * *

The Great Hall was awfully quiet at dinner time; Malfoy was half listening to the low chatter and smirked when he caught some words saying that he had known first hand how the tragedy had happened. It seemed like the Slytherins were the school pariahs again. He shrugged it off, what would they know anyway? Only now they had started to realize what a war implied, soon they all would be dealing first hand with it, and Malfoy had no time for useless gossip.

He threw furtive glances from time to time to Gryffindor table to make sure that Hermione was eating and that Parvati was well away from her. The golden trio was together again, Malfoy almost huffed in annoyance. It still was a mystery to him how Potter and Granger could endure Weasley's thickness, the red-head was clearly the envious type and only good enough for trouble making.

Malfoy was in the process of thinking inventive derogative names for the weasel when Potter turned to the Head table and made a gesture of surprise that almost immediately transformed in a look of loathing, curious he also turned to see and had to do a great effort for not mimicking Potter's reaction. Professor Snape was back at last.

* * *

The three Gryffindor friends were standing in front of the Gargoyle that hid the stairs to Dumbledore's office, none of them really wanting to be there, they supposed the Headmaster wanted to talk about what had happened in London, and whatever information Snape had given him. Harry saw it as a waste of time, it was already too late, Snape should have come with the information before the incident happened, not now when Hermione's parents were dead. The raven-haired boy was really angry with the Potion's Master, and it bothered him that Dumbledore had asked for Hermione to be there too, she was not well and the Headmaster should leave her alone.

"Hermione, are you sure you want to hear what he has to say?"

"Yes Harry, don't worry about me."

"But Hermione." Said Ron "It would be painful, we can tell him that you need sometime…"

"No!" Hermione interrupted him, she was tired of pity and she was going to show them that she was strong enough to handle this. "I want to know what happened, I'm not going to hide in my room and wallow in misery! We have to know how to prevent this from happening again!"

Harry watched her worriedly, but nodded at her.

"Ok 'Mione, let's go then."

They gave the password and the statue let them pass.

"My dear girl, I'm deeply sorry about this situation."

The Headmaster seemed tired but not defeated; Harry asked himself what Snape had told the old man and why the greasy git wasn't there. On second thought he really didn't want to see the man's Death Eater face right now. The Headmaster continued talking to Hermione.

"I know that your grieving and hurt are so much right now, but I have news for you."

Hermione's eyes turned curious, a flicker of hope could be seen in them, maybe her parents hadn't been home after all? But it died quickly; it was more likely that Dumbledore wanted to explain the arrangements for the funeral. Ron was the one who asked impatiently.

"What news professor? I hope they're not bad."

"Well, if I must be sincere you couldn't call them exactly good."

Harry frowned at the statement, but remained quiet while Dumbledore fixed his eyes to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, I know that the papers informed that there were no survivors to the attack, perhaps that was the more devastating notice. However a few people did survive the tragedy, if only barely, and your mother is one of them."

Hermione gasped in shock at the news, those were wonderful news and she was all too eager to accept them. She stood up from his seat in nervousness.

"Mom? Are you sure professor? Mom's alive? How? Where is she?"

"Oh, easy my girl, easy."

"But, that is wonderful. She is alive! May I see her? She must be so sad because of dad."

"Hermione, hold on just a few minutes and let me explain."

"But, but she's all right yes?"

"My girl, I'm afraid that 'all right' is not the term that better suits her condition right now. Sit down and let me explain."

"Come on 'Mione" said Harry taking hold of his friend's arm and making her sit again. "Let the Headmaster continue."

"Thank you Harry. Well, I must start from the beginning. The attack that affected London was a very complicated spell that needed a ritual, which allowed Voldemort to gather the magic of his Death Eaters and use it to destroy a target. I have been told that it was as if a torpedo had fallen from the sky, the magic practically destroyed everything."

Hermione took advantage of a little pause of the Headmaster to ask.

"What happened to the people?"

"Herm…" Ron started, but she interrupted him.

"I want to know what happened to them!"

Dumbledore sighed and answered the girl's question.

"We don't know exactly, many of the bodies were… well disintegrated would be a suitable word, some others appeared to be burned or melted… the few people that survived would probably carry severe disfigurations for the rest of their lives. If they ever wake up from the coma they are in."

Hermione sat stunned in horror for a while; she fought for control as her anger slowly built inside her. How could anyone be so twisted and heartless to do something like that? Harry's deep growl distracted her.

"Why didn't you make anything to stop it? Snape had been away for a whole week! If he didn't make you aware of what was happening he's a soulless traitor! Why did he come back here!"

"Harry, listen before make any judgments about professor Snape."

"But professor, he is clearly hiding information from us! I can't believe you still trust him!"

"Yes professor!" said Ron "He could have prevented this if he had wanted!"

Hermione didn't say anything, she only looked at Dumbledore expectantly and the old man sighed.

"Professor Snape contacted me boys, he did it four days ago, but at the time all he knew was that they were to initiate a very long dark ritual, he wouldn't take an active part in it because he was instructed to aid Voldemort with the technical aspects of it, no one really knew what was the ritual for, Voldemort refrained from telling his Death Eaters the purpose of it, the casting of the spell came immediately after the ritual was finished, they weren't even near London at the time, and so when Severus and other two Death Eaters that hadn't taken part in the ritual, were sent to London to assess the success of the spell, they were very surprised to find what they did."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but he really had nothing to say to that, so he closed it and Hermione finally spoke.

"But, the Prophet said that the Aurors hadn't found any survivors, why wouldn't they report that some people were found still alive?"

"Well my girl, that was because the Aurors really didn't find anyone alive, by the time they reached the place, professor Snape had sent his two companions back to their master, and had done a quick scan of the damaged territory with a special spell, which would find every breathing creature in it and 'apparate' it into a special room in St. Mungos. It is a useful spell but it requires a lot of energy and is only available to a few members of the Order. Of course, professor Snape had to hurry and be at St. Mungo's as soon as possible to find one of our group there, and make the presence of the muggles known, he waited until all of them were given the proper care and then returned to the school."

"But, how did he know that my mother is one of the survivors?"

"Well, he didn't know at the moment. When the list of victims appeared on the Daily Prophet, he and Madam Pomfrey came to St. Mungo's to run a few tests to see if any of the patients was a relative of a student."

"I see." Hermione was deep in thought, she was grateful that professor Snape had taken the time to save the victims he could, she had to tell Draco about it, the more she knew the boy the more she was convinced that he held high respect for professor Snape, yes, she definitely should tell him. She looked at the Headmaster and attempted a faint smile. "I would thank professor Snape personally for saving my mother, even if he didn't know at the time who he was saving."

"That would be nice of you Miss Granger." Said Dumbledore, smiling to the girl.

Harry's scowl remained in place, still not totally convinced of the reasons for which the attack hadn't been prevented. Dumbledore let him be and moved on to explain them that the wards were to be reinforced. He explained too that now many places could be future targets of the Dark Lord, and preventing that Voldemort would like to spread as much terror as possible it was likely that he eventually would attack St. Mungo's, so he would talk with the Minister of magic to reinforce the wards of the hospital, meanwhile the patients would be transferred to safer places, including Hogwarts, so Hermione would be able to see her mother soon. Unfortunately for the ones that lost family in the attack, no one would be allowed to left the school for the funerals, it was too risky and they couldn't take any chances. He finished warning them to be discreet and to keep their guards up.

"I would ask of you boys, that you don't mention what was said in here to anyone. And I mean absolutely anyone."

It was said so seriously that the three Gryffindors were surprised for a second, then Hermione nodded her agreement, but Harry and Ron looked at the Headmaster in confusion.

"Why professor? I mean, I understand the need of increasing security, but our housemates would be greatly relieved if they knew that there were survivors, it would help to make them feel a little better. Don't you think so?"

Ron nodded in approval to Harry's words, but Hermione frowned, already thinking in some people that she didn't want to tell about her mother being alive. Dumbledore only sighed.

"I'm sorry to tell you Harry, that I suspect that some of your classmates wouldn't be exactly happy with the news of survivors."

Hermione felt a curious surge of relief, it seemed that Draco was right and Dumbledore do have an idea of his students' ideals. Ron gasped at the news and predictably jumped immediately to the wrong conclusion.

"You mean there are still supporters of He-who-must-not-be-named? I knew that the Slytherins were hiding something! Surely Malfoy is up to no good!"

"Do you think that Malfoy have a way of contacting his father professor?"

That was from Harry, Hermione was starting to see red, she couldn't believe that his friends were so reluctant to give someone a chance to be different; she wanted to slap some sense in them but didn't dare to snap at them in front of the Headmaster. She was glad to hear the old man's disappointed words to her friends.

"Boys, I think that you should know by now that not all of the Death Eaters were Slytherins in their youth, you know at least one who was a Gryffindor."

Ron didn't seem to catch the unspoken words and continued talking.

"Yes, but Pettigrew is kind of the exception, no?"

"I'm afraid, Mr. Weasley, that he is far from being the only case."

Ron blinked, Harry was a little faster.

"You mean that there are Voldemort's supporters in the rest of the Houses? Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's not the point to signal a particular person Harry, many of your classmates are still unsure of what they believe, some of them are having trouble with their choices. I told this to you now because I consider that we must be extremely careful from now on, in order to maintain the security of all the people that reside in this school, but I still think that we could give the miscarried students a chance to decide what's best for them."

Harry and Ron were not totally convinced. Ron still insisted on the idea of giving their housemates some good news.

"Well, we could explain the situation to our friends and I'm sure that it won't get out from Gryffindor tower."

"No Mr. Weasley, you can't risk this information with anyone, not even your sister. You should be very careful from now on and keep your eyes open for any strange behavior, even on your housemates."

Ron frowned, not happy at all with what was being said.

"But…"

"We understand professor." Said Hermione, interrupting her friend before he could say something else. "We won't tell to anyone, not even Ginny."

"Thank you Miss Granger."

"But professor" said Harry "we have to tell them something, they're going to ask us why we were called to see you."

"Oh, yes. Well not all the information I have given you is strictly confidential. In fact, tomorrow I'm going to inform the rest of the students of the convenience of not going to the funerals, you can tell them that we talked about that."

"Ok."

Harry agreed grudgingly, he didn't want to believe that his fellow classmates could be capable of betraying them to Voldemort, but he certainly wasn't going to risk another Pettigrew. The meeting ended and the teenagers stood, ready to go.

"Oh, Miss Granger if I may have a word with you."

"Sure professor."

Hermione waited while her two friends exited the office, once they were alone the Headmaster coughed a little before speaking.

"I understand that the recent events must have taken its toll on you my girl, but I'm confident that you will recover from them with your friends' help, you know that you're not alone."

"Don't worry professor. I'll manage."

"Mmm. I also trust you to understand, that this is probably the beginning of very difficult times. I have seen it before. People would start to panic, to be afraid of each other, the first war tore apart friendships and families, we must do everything possible to remain united, and not to give in to paranoid thoughts which could drive away people that could help us. You understand what I say?"

Hermione nodded, she had been almost expecting this.

"You mean to tell me that I shouldn't let the news stop me from working along with Malfoy."

"I understand that his family supports Voldemort, and that his way of thinking is very different from yours. You and your friends had had troubles with him since first day, but I'd like you to remember that he's not his father, and that people can change for the best."

Hermione almost smiled, she asked herself for a second what Draco would think of all this. It seemed to her that the Headmaster was worried that the rivalry between the Houses would show itself again, and that it would be detrimental for the school safety.

"Don't worry professor, I understand that we should do everything we can to be stronger and besides, I'm trying not to judge Malfoy for his past actions."

The Headmaster smiled at her.

"I'm glad for it my girl, and I have been told that the two of you had been giving signs of starting to develop a friendship."

Hermione felt herself blush and wished that the Headmaster didn't notice.

"Well… we are getting to know each other a little better."

"That's good my girl, I hope that you two get to know even a tiny part of each other's worlds. I believe it would be very helpful."

"Mm… right professor… ah, may I go now?"

"Of course! I won't hold you any longer."

Hermione walked out of the office a little confused, she could swear that one of the portraits had winked to her, she made a mental note to identify every portrait that could be on her way to the Medusa statue.

* * *

Harry and Ron were waiting for her; the red-head was still pissed.

"Everything's ok 'Mione?" asked Harry.

"Yes Harry. Mmm… the professor only wanted to assure me that mom is going to be brought with real care."

She felt guilty for lying to them, but Ron was already annoyed and she was sure that they were going to start an argument; besides, she really was too tired to try to explain things to them.

They started walking to Gryffindor tower, while Ron complained about the injustice of the totally absurd suspicions of the Headmaster, after a while of hearing him Harry and Hermione were about to go crazy.

"Just imagine! A Gryffindor becoming a Death Eater! How could anyone even think such a thing?"

"Well, maybe that's why Pettigrew's treason took everybody by surprise no?" said Harry tiredly, hoping against hope that Ron would shut up for a moment to think what he was saying but no such luck, his friend turned annoyed eyes at him.

"Like I said Harry, the rat is the exception that confirms the rule. He hardly counts."

Hermione was fed up with it, she snapped angrily at her friend.

"You know Ron, a prejudice is also to think that certain kind of people do everything right and can never be mistaken! Do shut up for a while!"

They had arrived in front of the fat lady and Hermione almost shouted the password to the portrait and stepped inside the tower, leaving an openmouthed Ron.

"Now what's the matter with her?"

"Jesus Ron. I sometimes believe that you need to take classes of common sense."

"What? What for?"

"Oh, forget it. Let's go inside."

They entered the common room, in time to join their friend on her explanation to Dean and Ginny about the necessity of staying in the castle, and the dangers of going to her parents' funeral.

* * *

Draco stood outside the door of the Potions Master's office, glaring at the wood as if it was blocking his way on purpose. He wasn't so sure of why he was there in the first place, he didn't want to see his godfather, he was angry with life in general, but he also wanted to know why a man he always had appreciated was following a madman like Voldemort. That question was eating him alive. What had the Dark Lord promised to lure Severus Snape into servitude? What was so great that paid off for the humiliation and fear? Malfoy didn't want to believe that his uncle was just one more of the power-starved idiots that stupidly let themselves being tortured without reason, but it seemed that there were no other options and he just wanted to know why.

He felt the moment the protection shields disappeared and immediately knocked the door, barely waiting permission to enter. Snape was pacing in front of his desk, frowning at the papers he had on his hand, it seemed like he had been reading professor Sinistra's reports. The man didn't lift his head to acknowledge his student's presence. Malfoy walked straight to him, only giving a quick glance to the fireplace, asking himself with whom had his uncle been talking. He stood a few steps away from his godfather and waited impatiently.

"Mr. Malfoy, I trust that your Housemates had been conducting themselves appropriately this past week. The Headmaster was telling me that there were no nasty incidents to be of notice. Is that accurate?"

"Yes professor."

The strained voice of his godson made Snape turn his eyes to the boy and study him more carefully. Draco had his mask of indifference right in place, but he couldn't disguise the cold radiating from his eyes. Snape prodded a little in the young mind, there was anger there, a mass of conflicting emotions and… disappointment? Snape stopped himself from arching an eyebrow just in time, there was something new in the boy, his determination was almost palpable, Severus was curious to know if young Mr. Malfoy had already decided which road he was going to walk from now on.

"Then, is there something important that you want to tell me Mr. Malfoy?"

"Actually it is a personal matter. Godfather."

"I see. Do you think this is an adequate place to talk?"

"I know that you have protection spells powerful enough for us to be able to talk about everything."

"Very true." Snape stood in front of Malfoy and looked at him right in the eyes, the blond didn't turn away. "So, tell me what you want."

Draco steeled himself and shot the question, he knew he was burning his bridges behind him, but he was intent on doing this.

"I want to know how can you stand being ordered around by that poor excuse of a Dark Lord?"

Snape's eyes narrowed but otherwise he gave no indication of his thoughts.

"I expect that you have an appropriate excuse for that insult Draco."

"I don't have any excuses, that's exactly how I see him. The great Dark Lord! Ha! Do you know that he isn't even a pureblood?"

"Watch your tongue young man!"

Snape lowered his voice to a hiss, watching very carefully every one of the boy's reactions.

"Am I to assume that your loyalty is wavering?"

"I never gave any loyalty to your Lord! I would never follow that crazy man or call him 'Sir'! I just want to know why you do it!"

Snape stared coldly into the grey eyes, looking for any signal that betrayed the boy's intentions, he still played the part of the loyal Death Eater to see his reaction, he wanted to be sure of Draco's feelings on this matter.

"Stupid child. Do you have any idea of how powerful the Dark Lord is? He can crush you only with a thought. He wants to rule and has more than enough power to do it. To go against him is to sign your death wish!"

Malfoy's eyes didn't waver, with cold determination he asked:

"If that's true then, why he can't rid himself of a nuisance like Potter?"

"Do not question the Dark Lord boy. He's bidding his time, when the opportunity presents itself, have no doubt that Potter will be out of our existences."

"Yes? What's taking him so long? From what I have heard he had had many opportunities along the years and Potter is as healthy as ever. Maybe he's too much of a challenge for the Dark Lord."

"Don't say stupidities! The pathetic brat has just been lucky. He's no match for the Dark Lord's power!"

"Really? Somehow I really doubt it."

"You are talking nonsense Draco. I wasn't aware that your father's absence could affect you in such a way as to damage your priorities. What happened to your Malfoy pride? You used to dream the day when you'll become a great dark wizard."

Malfoy straightened himself and schooled his features into a despising mask, a perfect copy of his father's. Snape couldn't wait for the day on which the boy would replace Malfoy senior.

"My pride is still in place godfather. Actually it is because of it that I refuse to be enslaved to some power starved lunatic."

"Oh, you think you are better than the rest of the Dark Lord's loyal followers? Or do you simply think that the Dark Lord himself is not powerful enough for your tastes? How stupid can teenagers be! Don't you see the advantages to be on the winner side anymore?"

Malfoy noticed that his uncle didn't bother to refute right away his statement of slavery, but choose to not comment on it.

"Advantages, really?" He averted his eyes for the first time to see around him mockingly. Then he returned to look at Snape.

"Tell me uncle. How does it feel?"

Snape arched an eyebrow in question, Malfoy continued coldly.

"I assume that you were in the attack to London. Even if you weren't there you have been in a fair number of raids. How does it feel to do it? To kill someone? To play with a lesser being? Does it make you feel powerful to torture and kill someone that couldn't even dream to fight you back?"

Snape smirked, careful to not show how very pleased he was with the way Draco was thinking.

"Of course, that shows your power to everyone stupid enough to question it."

"I think it is a pathetic way to make others fear you."

"I don't think that's what your father taught you Draco, he raised you to love power and crave for it, to always make powerful allies and enhance the name of Malfoy."

"Maybe he taught me too well."

Snape was proud of the boy; he only needed one more thing to check out.

"No, maybe that Granger girl is being the problem. She never shuts up. I'll hate to think that you are listening to that mudblood's nonsense."

He covered the word with as much venom as he could muster and almost smiled when Draco clutched his fists and narrowed his eyes dangerously. That was a very good reaction, knowing how possessive the boy could be, Snape now had no doubts that Granger had surpassed the title of 'affair', and had become something more real and solid in the blonde's life. Perfect.

"She is a lot smarter than anyone in this school, and certainly is worth much more than any of you, pathetic Death Eaters with all your pitiful, coward, piece of shit of Dark Lord you have!"

No sooner the words were out of his mouth, than he realized what he was saying and to whom. Draco froze and paled slightly.

'_Shit. Shit. Shit! I'm an idiot! That was the most stupid thing to say ever!'_

He was completely lost in his panic and forgot to pay attention to his uncle's behavior; he only heard the man's words and missed entirely the smile of approval that appeared in his uncle's lips.

"So, the young Malfoy had developed some kind of fondness for the bossy girl. How unusual really."

Draco was about to deny what was so blatantly true, but he shut his mouth and tried to think. Snape knew him far too well to be fooled easily; he had to think of a better way to make the man forget about what he had said. His desperate thoughts were interrupted when the flames in the fireplace came alive, and professor Sinistra's voice could be heard.

"Severus… oh, sorry. I didn't know you were busy."

"It's ok Sinistra. I'm finished here. You can go Mr. Malfoy."

The blond Slytherin looked at his uncle carefully, but had no choice than to obey and left the office, cursing himself for having let his guard down and putting Hermione at risk.


	17. Discoveries

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 17. ****Discoveries.**

Tuesday was a very long day; Hermione felt every one of her classmates looking at her with pity, since the Headmaster announced the impossibility to go to the funerals of the victims of London's massacre. She really was looking forward to the gardening group, there she could relax a little and be near Draco for a while.

Hermione couldn't wait to see Malfoy, he seemed worried at breakfast and was eying her oddly, also he didn't seem too happy with the potions master, and he had looked at the head table a couple of times with an unfriendly face. Hermione wanted to talk with him and tell him about professor Snape, she was sure that Draco would follow the professor to the light side and she would do everything she could for that to happen.

Ron accompanied them to the greenhouse, he and Harry were talking about Quidditch again and Hermione for the first time felt grateful for it, they arrived to the greenhouse with the rest of the group and waited for Neville to open the door and let them in. They were going to work in pairs now, and Harry was sure he and Hermione would be together, but then Seamus arrived and asked Harry if he could work with him, Harry was thinking how to say no, when Malfoy approached them and greeted Hermione.

"Granger."

"Hi Malfoy."

"Stay away from her Malfoy!" said Ron, who was still with them, he took a step to be between his friend and the Slytherin, Harry tried to do the same, but the bushy haired girl pushed him aside and threw both of her friends an exasperated look, which Ron didn't notice. "You are about the last person Hermione wants to have near her right now!"

Malfoy arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything; Hermione sighed in annoyance and pulled Ron away from the Slytherin.

"Actually Ron, I don't mind if he approaches me, we still have work to do together."

"What? Well, yes but he has no reason to approach you outside the library!"

"Who are you to say that?"

"Herm. We have to be careful remember?" Harry tried, eying Malfoy warily; the boy had not opened his mouth but was watching him with eyes too cold for his liking. Hermione turned to Harry and snapped at him.

"I think I know how to be careful Harry, besides, it wouldn't do for us to start fighting again. It would be detrimental for the Unity in the school!"

Harry and Ron stared at her openmouthed, Ron almost immediately retorted, he wasn't about letting her near a Death Eater's son.

"Look 'Mione, you know that things are getting dangerous, and we know where Malfoy's loyalties lie, he's not going anywhere near you!"

Hermione's eyes looked murderous, Harry actually took a step away from the glaring couple, Malfoy felt a sudden urge to laugh at the sight, but he was pretty aware that everybody was watching them, no doubt thinking that it was one of the usual spats between Granger and Weasley; Hermione suddenly hissed angrily at the red-head.

"What do you know about his loyalties? You are just as prejudiced as any pureblood! And towards your own kind! And if things are getting dangerous we should be the ones to put on an example and make a difference!"

The three boys were momentarily too stunned by her words to react, when she turned to Malfoy and, taking hold of his right arm, proceeded to drag him to the now open entrance to the greenhouse.

"Come on Malfoy! I think you can show your support to the victims of London's attack by working with me today!"

The blond didn't have time to utter one single word; he just let himself to be dragged to the potted plants of the gardening group, while Harry and Ron watched him and Hermione openmouthed.

"What the fuck?" Ron managed to whisper after a while; Ginny was instantly by his side.

"Ronald Weasley! What did you do now!"

"I didn't do anything! I just…! I don't know what happened!"

Harry left the siblings arguing and hurried up to follow Hermione, the rest of the group followed him inside the greenhouse.

They were making fertilizer and Draco was doing everything he could to not have any contact with the hideous substance, he complained loudly about the whole gardening thing and scowled at the plants. Hermione berated him all the time and both of them did their best to appear as if they were working together against their better judgment. From time to time Draco would relax a little, and if no one was looking, he even would help with the making of the fertilizer with his wand, and Hermione would smile to him. For the first half an hour they had to watch out for Ginny and Harry, because they were inclined to approach them every 10 minutes to see if everything was alright. Malfoy grew annoyed and threatened them with hexing their poor excuses of plants if they didn't leave him alone, the Gryffindors were affronted by this but Hermione shot them a murderous glance and they finally left the couple alone.

By the end of the "lesson" Draco was struggling for not seem worried when he asked Hermione if they could meet later, she nodded and mouthed tonight before Ginny appeared at her side and both girls gave polite goodbyes to Malfoy, who got out of the greenhouse before Potter had any chance to approach him.

The rest of the day went by without further problems, if you didn't count the fact that Hermione wasn't too friendly with Ron. Harry did his best to overlook them, but he couldn't help to notice that Hermione was very distant and that she almost didn't talk with anyone the entire day, he supposed the girl was very worried over her mother and still depressed from the loss of her dad, and he dismissed her strange behavior as her way of dealing with stress. However there was one thing that he wanted to ask her and he waited until after dinner to do it, when they were returning to Gryffindor tower and Ron had gone away to do prefect duty.

"Hey 'Mione, I have been meaning to ask you. Do you know where the Marauder's map is? I was looking for it yesterday when you went missing and I couldn't find it in my trunk."

Hermione blushed slightly, she knew where the map was, she had left it in the secret room at the dungeons and she didn't want to give it to Harry just yet. What if he decided to check it at night?

"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry! I really am! I took it yesterday because I didn't want to be found and well... I was so upset that I don't know where I left it"

She finished with a little voice, Harry remained silent for a whole minute and she got herself ready for the anger that was sure to come.

"You... lost it? Hermione you lost the map!"

Hermione blushed and lowered her head, she knew that Harry would be mad, but she prayed to the gods that he accepted her lie and didn't try to find the map.

"I'm sorry Harry, I know that it meant too much for you..."

"No Hermione! I don't think you have any idea of what it means!"

Harry stomped along the hall, leaving Hermione alone, he was so angry that it didn't occur to him that the girl couldn't possibly have time, nor did she had the sense, to go to Gryffindor tower, take the map and then disappear before he and Ron went looking for her. Hermione looked at his outraged form walking away and sighed in relief, Harry was very angry now, but eventually he would forgive her; besides, she intended to retrieve the map eventually.

'_Forgive me Harry, I'll return it, I swear I'll give it to you, just not now.'_

And she continued walking; already thinking in how she was going to tell Malfoy the truth about professor Snape.

* * *

Malfoy was biting his nails nervously in the secret room while he pretended to be reading a book about Rare Healing Potions, it was already 11:00 and Granger hadn't arrived yet. He was so stupid! He should have asked her to meet somewhere else and not at night! His mind insisted in reminding him of all the hidden passages and rooms that existed in the dungeons where his godfather could very well hid an unsuspecting student. Then he'll berate himself again for being so foolish and let his guard down around his uncle, he shouldn't have gone to ask stupid questions to the man in the first place! Now Severus had realized that something had transpired between Malfoy and Granger and he was the last person Draco had wanted to notice it!

The sound of footsteps inside the room took him out of his mental scolding and he stood up hurriedly to meet the girl that was approaching him.

"Hi Draco, sorry to be late. I couldn't get out of the tower sooner; everyone seems to have a lot of homework lately."

Malfoy couldn't have cared less about the Gryffindors' habits to do homework; he approached to the girl and took her by the arms, taking a good look at her to make sure that she was unharmed. Hermione lifted an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Something's wrong Draco?" She asked nervously, Malfoy looked directly into her eyes and she shuddered inwardly, she could tell he was worried.

"Are you ok? Did you see anything strange on your way here?"

"I'm fine Malfoy, I've been really careful; I even hid from some portraits."

Draco scowled, thinking about the portraits that were in his uncle's private chambers, and released the girl with a sigh.

"Listen Hermione, you have to be very careful from now on, especially around Snape, he…" Draco bitted his lip nervously, suddenly unsure about how to tell her that his uncle could be one of her parents' murderers. The bright smile that appeared in Hermione's face took him completely by surprise.

"Oh, yes! I'm glad that you mentioned professor Snape. I have something to tell you."

Malfoy lifted an eyebrow suspiciously.

"About Severus Snape?"

"Yes, I know that he's your uncle, he's a powerful wizard and I want you to know how much he's helping our side in this war…"

"Stop! Listen Hermione I don't know who had told you that, but I guarantee you that there's no way my uncle is giving any help to the light side. And you should keep as far away as you can from him!"

"But Draco, professor Dumbledore trusts him!"

"Then the old man is a bloody idiot!" Malfoy sighed and took the girl's hands, looking directly into her eyes. "Hermione, listen. My uncle is not trustworthy. Please, just stay away from him."

"Why are you so worried Draco? Professor Snape will fight at our side, I can assure you…"

"No Hermione, he's not fighting for the light! He's a Death Eater!"

There, he had said it; he had betrayed his godfather with that sentence. And he was utterly shocked when he didn't get the answer he was expecting, granted he wasn't really sure of what Granger would say or do when she knew where Snape's loyalties laid, but smile merrily at him had been definitely out of the question.

"I know."

That was even more unexpected; Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

"You… knew?"

"Yes, that's what I'm trying to tell you, professor Snape is a spy for Dumbledore."

Malfoy groaned and took a deep breath, not quite believing her.

"That's not very convincing Granger. He could be spying for the Dark Lord and fooling Dumbledore completely!"

"Oh, for God's sake! You're just like Harry! He's always saying the same thing!"

"Well at least the bloody boy-who-lived has some sense! Hermione I know my uncle, he's the only man in my entire family that truly deserves to be respected, but I know that he can be a conniving bastard!"

"Draco, I know that professor Snape is not the most cheerful person in the school, he's a dark wizard, but he had given valuable information to our side."

"He could have done it on the Dark Lord's orders! He's smart Hermione, and you have no proof that he has changed loyalties, not even one thing that could tell you that he doesn't want to be rid of the muggles and muggleborns!"

"Well, actually he saved my mother."

"What?"

"My mother, she's alive, and some other people that barely survived the attack on London. Professor Snape took them to a safe place."

Draco was speechless for a second and looked at her in confusion; she smiled at him and took his hand.

"Come, I'll explain everything to you."

They sat on the cushions and Hermione told him everything about professor Snape's spying duties and how was the recent attack to London, she told him a lot about Harry's special lessons and the little she knew about the reasons for Snape to betray the Dark Lord, when she finished Draco was deep in thought, visibly weighting the possibilities and the advantages that his godfather could achieve by such a move, his scowl growing deeper while he reached a conclusion.

"So, your mother is alive."

"Yes, she's in bad shape, and professor Dumbledore told me that they didn't know if she would survive, but I know she would, she's a very strong woman."

"Well, at least that's good news."

"Yes, I really want to see her as soon as possible. Draco, about professor Snape, well, you understand what this means?"

Malfoy's eyes hardened a little, his scowl still in place.

"It means that I've been worrying about nothing! The bloody bastard!"

Hermione lifted her eyebrows at him.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, forget it."

He offered her a smile and pulled her into his arms for a kiss, Hermione surrendered easily and felt Draco's hand entangling on her hair, his hand already searching a way into her blouse, the kiss broke and Malfoy breathed on her lips.

"I'm glad your mother is alive."

"I have to thank professor Snape properly, I'm very grateful for it."

"Forget about him for a moment" Draco started to trail kisses along her chin and neck, then he sucked at the junction with her shoulder. "Need you. It has been a stressful day."

"Malfoy, we shouldn't…"

Draco sucked at the same spot possessively, he had been worrying over her for an ungodly long amount of time and he wasn't in the mood to accept a rejection.

"Forget about it. We won't take a lot of time. Let me have you."

He licked the red mark he had done in her skin and started to get rid of the clothes, Hermione surrendered and soon enough she was lost in the wonderful things his hands were doing.

* * *

It was pretty late when Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower, Draco insisted on going with her and he left her in front of the portrait, she was very amused of the way he was acting, it felt very odd to think that he worried about her well being, but it pleased her none the least. She knew that Malfoy was possessive but she hadn't thought that it would include her somehow.

Hermione gave the password to a sleepy portrait and entered silently the common room. She almost died of a heart attack when Harry jumped in front of her and grabbed her by the arms with the most worried face she had seen him in a long time.

"Hermione! Where were you? Did you see Ron? I've been worried sick about you!"

"Jesus Harry! Stop it! You scared me!"

"'Mione, where did you go?"

Harry was worried, and when Harry was worried he was very stubborn, Hermione sighed and tried to put him at ease.

"Look Harry I'm fine, I just went to… well I wanted to clear my mind and… well"

"You didn't go looking for the map did you?"

Hermione hadn't thought of that, but it seemed a perfect excuse at the moment.

"Well, I was trying to find it but I don't remember all the passages I used and…"

"Oh Hermione!"

Harry hugged her and she sighed in relief, she asked herself how Harry had known that she was missing.

"You don't have to worry about it 'Mione. I'm sorry I made you feel bad."

"It's ok Harry, but how did you know I wasn't here?"

"Ginny went to our room to lecture me and Ron on proper ways of talking with a girl, and how we should be more sensitive and things like that, then she went straight to remember us all the bad things that had happened and all the stress you have suffered lately. In short, she managed to make us feel like shit and she insisted that we apologized immediately, so she went to your room and didn't find you there, we didn't find you in the entire tower and we started to look for you in the rest of the castle. I returned just a few minutes before you came in, and I convinced Ginny to go to sleep, Ron's still outside, I suppose he's about to come too."

Hermione paled slightly, realizing that she and Draco could have encountered any of her Gryffindor friends, at that moment the portrait entrance opened and Ron appeared.

"'Mione! Are you ok?"

"Hi Ron."

"Hermione don't scare us like that!"

"Listen guys, I really appreciate that you worry about me but I can take care of myself."

"We know it 'Mione" said Harry "but we are on our nerves these days, and we don't want anything to happen."

"Well, we all have been a bit stressed lately."

They hugged each other as reconciliation and after being sure that Hermione was fine they went to their dormitories to sleep.

* * *

The rest of the week went by without incident; the trio was back to be inseparable and things in the school seemed back to normal. Hermione thought that it fit a strange pattern, the Death Eaters gave a big strike, put everybody in a panic rush and then do nothing for days, letting the people ease themselves for a while, only to attack again and spread terror that would last a little longer It was really stressful and have everyone jumping at every minor thing, no one could know where the next attack would be or how. Snape had told them that it was all part of You-Know-Who's strategy, the Dark Lord wanted to debilitate his enemies by fear, and he was doing a good job.

In an effort to forget the war and the deaths, the students were concentrating fully on their school work. The inter-houses' projects were almost excellent and the extracurricular groups were a big success. Harry and Ron were glued to Hermione, they didn't leave her alone and it was annoying her, Malfoy even had the nerve to call them her bodyguards at the DA session. Hermione wasn't very happy for it, but Ron seemed to take it as a compliment because he did everything he could to prove Malfoy's words true, Harry just smiled at his friend but did nothing to put him under control and Hermione was exasperated.

Unfortunately for her, Ron started to insinuate himself again, and she didn't know what to tell him to make him understand that she only wanted him as friend, she was starting to get desperate and tried to be detached and cold with the red-head, but the boy seemed oblivious of her attempts to drive him away. As the days passed by she opted for simply ignore him and try to get away from her friends whenever possible, that resulted in more night encounters with Malfoy, although sometimes all the couple did was talk and snuggle together for a while.

Hermione was a little confused over Malfoy's behavior, he was acting like they were a formal couple and while she liked very much the change, she was afraid to get used to it, she wasn't really sure of Malfoy's feelings, neither of them had really talked about that and she had been fearful to bring up the subject, it had been so nice to feel that he cared that she didn't want to ruin it. She feared the moment when reality finally struck him and he rejected her, she knew that she shouldn't be letting herself get lost in the fantasy they both had created, but she wanted so much to be with him that she had decided to enjoy it while she could; she would deal with the loss when it came.

Another thing that was amusing her was the fact that Draco had taken upon himself to remind her that Harry was an immature boy, and she often caught him glaring at her dark haired friend whenever he was too close to her, she was reluctant to think that Malfoy was jealous of Harry, it was pretty obvious to her that the golden Gryffindor boy only saw her as kind of a sister, Ron was the one who constantly harassed her, but Draco seemed to think of Weasley's advances as minor inconveniences. Hermione soon realized that Malfoy thought too little of Ron to take him as a serious danger, Harry on the other hand, Draco saw as real competition, which made Hermione feel oddly proud of her friend, but when she asked Malfoy straight away if he was jealous the blond totally denied it, making the whole thing more amusing.

It came the day when Mrs. Granger arrived at Hogwarts, none of the students were aware of this, except the golden trio and Malfoy; Hermione insisted on helping with the accommodations for all the patients that were going to be kept at Hogwarts, and she cringed when she saw her mother, there was no hair over his head and most of her body was covered in bandages, some of the wounds refused to heal and that was clearly evident for some bloodied patches, she had a device over her nose that aided her to breath and a IV with healing potion permanently attached to her arm. Hermione was depressed when she returned to Gryffindor tower after seeing her mother and helped to get her comfortable, she refused her friends company and hid in her dormitory the rest of the afternoon.

She came to see Draco that night, still depressed and with her eyes swollen from crying, Malfoy was alarmed to see her in that state but refused to let her continue to commiserate herself, instead he proposed they both go see her mother, she was surprised that he wanted to accompany her but she accepted and they went to the room destined to the new patients.

Malfoy felt sick as soon as they entered, the antiseptic smell got quickly into his nerves, but he forced himself to stay without complain, they walked the row of beds until reaching the one of Hermione's mother, the girl opened the white curtain that surrounded the bed and Malfoy scowled at the sight. Hermione sat at her mother's side and Draco stood beside her, grabbing one of her shoulders in a supportive gesture, the girl took her mother's hand and started speaking.

"Good night mom, I'm here again. I'm not going to take long but I want you to meet someone, he's Draco."

Hermione turned to the blond and to her mother again as if she could see them.

"He's…um…" she stopped in mid sentence, not sure of how to address Malfoy, she didn't want to make a mistake; the boy saved her the trouble speaking for himself.

"I'm her boyfriend ma'am."

Hermione froze upon hearing his words, she wasn't expecting that, she felt his hands on both her shoulders and she automatically leaned on his body, feeling his warm behind her, she turned upwards cautiously to see his eyes, and was appalled to see the sincerity in them.

"Yes, yes he is." She turned again to her mother and smiled for the first time that day. "And he has helped me very much mom."

They remained at the bedside for some minutes and then they exited quietly, careful to not disturb the rest of the patients. At the entrance door however they were surprised to find Albus Dumbledore waiting for them; the old man smiled knowingly at their shocked faces.

"Well Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, what a surprise. I hope you had a good visit."

"Professor!" Hermione instinctively pressed herself to Malfoy and the boy narrowed his eyes at the headmaster.

"We had, thank you. We were already leaving."

"Ah, yes you were. I dare say that you look very good together indeed, professor Snape was most surprised and I had to see it for myself."

"I bet he was." Hissed Malfoy, he still hadn't come to terms with his godfather and it annoyed him that the man had shared his suspicious with Dumbledore, but then he recalled the old man's behavior earlier in the term and he realized something. "And I bet that you were expecting it all this time."

Hermione turned to look at him surprised, Dumbledore only laughed wholeheartedly.

"Well I can't deny that I hoped you two to get to a mutual comprehension, but really it seems that it has become even better than that. Am I correct?"

Draco wanted to wipe the man's smile out of his face, the cunning bastard, besides him Hermione blushed and shivered a little, he realized that she was expecting a negative on his part, but he wasn't going to hide anymore, he had decided that he would accept what he felt and the world be damned.

"Yes. You're right professor."

Hermione's hand tightened in his; if possible the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes grew brighter.

"Ah, excellent! That's really good indeed, congratulations. But may I do a little request?" Malfoy arched an eyebrow in askance and Dumbledore continued. "Don't break the news to the school yet my children."

Hermione blinked surprised, Malfoy scowled at being called child.

"Why not?"

"Please, just for safety, I'm sure Mr. Malfoy that you know how dangerous the students can be. Until we can ensure that you both won't be in more danger than you already are, I think that your relationship can remain secret for a while longer."

Well it seemed that the old man was pretty aware of what was happening in his school, anyway, Malfoy was planning to keep their secret a while longer too, so both students agreed and they were free to go to their Houses, with Dumbledore smiling at their backs.


	18. Quidditch and dancing

**Important:**

**_Disclaimers for this chapter:_** _This story is based in characters owned by JK Rowling, so I have no claiming over them. _

_The lyrics used in this chapter are copyrighted by Producciones Alfa Records, and I'm only writing fragments of the song._

**Warning**: This chapter contains a brief mention of slash, nothing graphic and only in one paragraph.

**

* * *

Chapter18 Quidditch and dancing. **

Harry couldn't sleep, he turned over in bed about a million times before deciding to get up and out of the dormitory. He was now safely tucked on an armchair, giving a few finishing touches to his potion's essay, and thinking about the oncoming final match of Quidditch that was due in a few hours. It was going to be Slytherin against Gryffindor and Harry was not feeling as confident as usual, Malfoy had put together a good team, you didn't even notice Crabbe's absence, his replacement was doing far better work than him, aside from that Harry had had the chance to see first hand some of Malfoy's tactics and he was forced to admit that the blond was indeed very good, he'll put on a good fight this time.

Harry sighed, thinking about Malfoy lately made his head ache, the Slytherin and himself had reached some kind of mute agreement towards civility, which had been hard to maintain with Ron always jumping at any chance to infuriate Malfoy, luckily the blond always ignored the red-head. Sometimes Potter and Malfoy still fought, mostly verbally, and always over things in which Malfoy wanted to prove Harry wrong. Harry had noticed that the blond seemed to be angry with their potions teacher and that unnerved him for some reason, the Gryffindor was still doubting Malfoy's apparent alliance, but Hermione seemed determined to accept the Slytherin's offer of peace, the girl talked to the blond more often and that had Harry on his nerves, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Malfoy was plotting something very bad, and that said something included Hermione, the Gryffindor had caught some glares that the Slytherin throw them when the bushy haired girl wasn't looking and he had brought them to Hermione's attention, but his friend diminished his worries and continued acting as if Malfoy suddenly had become a housemate.

To make things worse, Ron was being impossible, and driving Hermione away with his continuous proving and insistence to change his status in Hermione's life, which Harry could see would end in the girl cutting all ties with his best friend. Harry had tried to speak with Ron, Ginny had seen the danger too and had advised her brother to take things easy for now, but Ron was being more dense and stubborn than usual and he couldn't see what the problem was, given that Hermione was not dating Harry after all.

The black-haired boy felt frustrated, he couldn't do anything to make his two best friends to behave as they should, he supposed that he must wait until they sorted their issues themselves. He was contemplating going to bed again when he heard the portrait moving, curious he stood to see who could be arriving at one in the morning, he was surprised to see Hermione, almost sleep walking but by all appearances happy, entering the common room, she was surprised too to see him, and she opened her mouth in disbelief while he approached her.

"Harry! What are you doing here?"

"Me? I couldn't sleep and I went to the common room to do a little homework. Where were you Hermione? It's one in the morning!"

"Oh, well I…"

Hermione didn't know what to say, Malfoy had just left her outside the common room and she hadn't expected to find anyone there, she was about to tell Harry that she had been visiting her mother when the boy narrowed his eyes and reached to her right shoulder, pulling her hair out of the way.

"Hermione, what's this?"

The girl blushed, she had sworn that Malfoy had left the mark well hidden; it seemed that her blouse had fallen a little.

"Harry, I…"

"Are you… dating someone? You are, aren't you? And you're hiding it from Ron."

Harry wasn't upset, only very surprised; a smile formed on his face, for him this development explained a lot of things.

"Who is it Herm? Come on, tell me!"

Hermione was crimson red; Harry's evident happiness for her had made her feel very pleased.

"I won't tell you Harry, it's my secret."

"Oh, please Hermione, I promise I won't tell Ron and Ginny."

"I know you won't tell them, but Ron's your best friend and I want to be sure that you won't let it out in a moment of exasperation, besides both 'him' and I want to have it secret a little longer, we are having fun with it." '_And you'll kill me if you knew who it is'_ she added privately, Harry pouted and then rolled his eyes at her.

"Who would have imagined that you of all people would find fun in a secret relationship?"

She smiled sheepishly at him, thanking the gods for Harry's naivety; the two of them went to their respective dormitories then, to catch some sleep before the sun rose.

* * *

Hermione walked Harry and Ron to the dresser rooms to wish them good luck, after Ron entered hurriedly into the dresser rooms for personal matters, Hermione gave Harry a hug for good measure, just when the Slytherin team was passing in front of them. Draco scowled fiercely at the sight and Hermione rolled her eyes at him upon seeing his reaction, then she went away to find a seat, glancing backwards only once to make sure that there wasn't a fight in tow. 

Draco waited until Hermione was out of sight and turned a mocking smirk to the Gryffindor seeker.

"So Potter, you and Granger had decided to make things serious? I suppose Weasley was not enough for her."

"Shut up Malfoy! It's not your business but Hermione is only a good friend."

Malfoy smiled evilly at the boy, fighting his own possessiveness and the urge to tell him to stay away from his woman.

"Good friends eh? Tell me Potter, has she got a partner for the end of term ball yet? Or any of you had noticed that you have to invite someone?"

Harry was thrown out for the change of subject. Dumbledore had announced the ball earlier in the week as a way to give a proper goodbye and wish good luck to the seventh years. He thought that no one had invited Hermione yet, all the Gryffindors automatically assumed that she'll go with Harry or Ron, Ron included, Harry had briefly thought of inviting her if she didn't want to go with their red-haired friend, but with the night's discovery he now was sure that she'll go with someone else.

"What do you care Malfoy? She is going to go with whomever she wants."

"Mmm, so none of you had invited her yet. Tell me Potter, do you think she'll go with me?"

Harry paled visibly and looked at the Slytherin in disbelief; Malfoy continued smirking, amused of his reaction.

"You leave her alone Malfoy!"

"Why? You have stated that she's free and could go with anyone she wants."

"She doesn't want to go with you! Stay away from her!"

"Why she wouldn't want to dance with me Potter? She had been friendly enough lately, maybe she had seen reason and wants to improve her status."

'_Maybe she had gone mad!'_ thought Harry to himself, aloud he shouted at Malfoy.

"You know pretty well that she's only making an effort for the 'Unity project' of the Headmaster! If not for Dumbledore's orders she would have nothing to do with an insufferable git as you Malfoy!"

"Are you telling me Potter that I'm not good enough for you pathetic know-it-all mudblood friend?" said Malfoy dangerously, Harry looked ready to launch at him.

"Don't call her that name Malfoy! And that's right; you're not good enough for her! I can't believe that she thinks that you have changed!"

'_You'll be surprised Potter, to see how much more she thinks of me'_ Draco thought with satisfaction, still on his act he hissed at the Gryffindor.

"We'll see Potter. What about this? If I win the snitch on this match, then I'll take Granger to the ball, and you would shut your mouth and say nothing about it."

Harry's shock was evident on his eyes, Draco laughed inwardly, after all it had been a good idea that Hermione waited until the last moment to tell her friends about the arrangements that Dumbledore made for the ball. The Gryffindor soon found his voice again.

"What? Are you insane Malfoy? I don't know what you're planning, but you better leave Hermione out of it! Do you hear me?"

"And you are going to stop me, how exactly Potter?"

Harry saw red, how the bastard dared to taunt him with Hermione? Harry considered for a second to beat the smudginess out of the blond, but then he reminded himself of Hermione's nearly sick obsession to be allies with the Slytherin and decided to get him away from her using his own word.

"Fine Malfoy! I'm going to beat you to the snitch again! And you are going to leave Hermione alone! I don't believe in your supposed attempts at peace with her, I don't know what your intentions are, but I'm sure that friendship is far from your mind!"

'_As far as you can imagine Potter.'_ Draco smirked amused, hearing at the Gryffindor's rant.

"So I win the snitch and you stay away from Hermione, is that clear?"

"You have a deal Potter."

* * *

Hermione waved her hands and shouted her support to the Gryffindor team, along with the rest of her housemates, she felt a little upset for not being able to cheer at Malfoy too, but she consoled herself with the thought that Draco knew she was seeing him when she cheered. The teams were still on the ground, listening to Madam Hoochs' instructions, both seekers had a look of determination on their faces, Hermione thought that Harry looked a bit angry but dismissed it readily when both captains shook hands and the teams went flying into the air, Hermione was surprised at the look of grim determination in Malfoy's face, both seekers went high into the sky as the other players dealt with the Quaffle and the Bludgers. 

Harry was focused on finding the Snitch, giving only brief indications to the team and watching Malfoy once in a while, the Slytherin seemed to be concentrated and barely noticing the game that was taking place below them, Harry thought for a moment that the blond was too distracted until Malfoy evaded quite graciously a Bludger that was aimed at him, both of them continued circling the pitch, searching incessantly the golden ball, Harry could hear the cheering and the whistles every time someone scored, at the time Gryffindor was winning for ten points.

Harry circled above the Ravenclaw's stands and suddenly spotted a golden glint just above a chaser's head, he looked at Malfoy to see that the blond was already moving, but he was farter away than Harry, the Gryffindor dived and went directly to the girl that had the snitch hovering above her, she noticed him and moved out of the way, but that made Harry lost sight of the little ball momentarily, it wasn't Malfoy's case however, the blond continued accelerating and Harry changed his trajectory a little to block Malfoy's path, the blond only wavered a little but continued flying, now shoulder to shoulder with Potter, who could see the snitch now flying ahead of them, a Bludger got in their line of vision, and Harry went high and Draco ducked to evade the black ball that zoomed between them, both seekers had a moment of confusion but Draco soon spotted the snitch again near to the ground, and without a second thought continued his dive for it, he was almost there, Potter suddenly came from above, half body ahead of him, no, he wouldn't allow it, Potter wouldn't have the snitch this time, Draco had to win, he leaned almost flat on his broom and pushed it to its limits, reaching the level of the Gryffindor seeker he moved forward and extended his left arm, they were almost racing on the ground, Potter reached forward too with all his might, almost there, just had to curl his fingers.

Neither of them realized that the pitch was coming to an end, and that there was a tiny mount of earth on their way, Malfoy's broom barely connected with it, enough to send the boy flying forward and a little to the side, taking Harry with him, both seekers made a fine dig?line in the ground to finally hit the Hufflepuff's stands and stay there, nearly unconscious in a tangled heap of red and green.

"Ow…" was the only sensible thing that came to Draco's mind, he could hear hurried steps that were getting nearer and felt Potter trying to disentangle himself.

"Malfoy… you alive?" Potter didn't sound so good, Draco made an effort to move his arms and curled his fingers tightly around something small and smooth, he lifted his head and forgot the ache of his body immediately, a huge grin greeted Madam Hooch and the rest of the players.

"Are you all right boys? Oh, well. Mr. Malfoy has the snitch. Slytherin wins!"

She announced to the world, Harry was instantly upright and looked at Malfoy's bruised but satisfied face in disbelief while the Slytherins started to surround their captain.

"Well Potter, seems I won." was all that Malfoy could say before he was sequestered by his team, Harry saw them get away a few meters before the entire Slytherin house reunited them, he heard a worried voice by his side.

"Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Ginny."

"Mate what happened?" asked Ron, Harry looked at him perplexed.

"Seems that Malfoy is getting better."

"Rats! It's really unfair."

Both teams headed to the dressers, Harry with a worried face, looking intently at Malfoy's back, the blond was walking slowly at Goyle's side, limping a little, Hermione suddenly appeared from nowhere and Malfoy stopped, turning to smirk evilly at Harry, the boy walked a little faster with Ginny at his side, Ron had stayed behind at the pitch, being ordered to help Madam Hooch.

Hermione was politely congratulating Malfoy, and the blond retired hurriedly to the dressers when Harry arrived.

"'Mione."

"Harry, are you all right? You should go to the Hospital wing right away! That was quite a crash."

"It's nothing, I'm fine. What did he tell you?"

"Who? Malfoy? I only congratulated him. Sorry Harry, but I thought that it would be very rude of me not to do it."

"That's fine; I mean if he told you anything else."

"No, is he supposed to?" Hermione looked at him expectantly and Harry suddenly feared her reaction.

"Ginny, can you go ahead please?"

Ginny lifted her eyebrow at him, but shrugged and go into the dressers, Harry looked at his friend again.

"'Mione I'm sorry, I really am, I wanted to get him away from you and I didn't think that he… Well, it's a stupid thing anyway, because he could ask you but that doesn't mean that you have to agree and you won't because you want to go with someone else, so really there's nothing to worry about…"

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

Harry took a deep breath and told her.

"Malfoy and I agreed in that if he won the snitch he would ask you to the ball and dance with you."

Hermione looked at Harry's worried face for moment and did her best effort for not to laugh.

"Harry… what exactly you were thinking you'd gain if Malfoy wouldn't ask me to the ball?"

"The deal was that he'll stay away from you. Maybe it sounds stupid, but Hermione I… What's the matter?" Harry noticed the amused look on his friend's face; Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, at that moment Malfoy got out of the dressers, heading to the hospital wing. Hermione looked at him and stopped him on his tracks.

"Malfoy, what did you tell Harry?" she asked, faking annoyance, the blond put on an innocent look.

"Me? Absolutely nothing Granger. Why?"

"I see. You're really evil Malfoy, how could you let Harry worry himself like that? You know pretty well that it was a useless dare!" Draco grinned, sensing her amusement despite the annoyed tone.

"You're no sport at all Granger. Fine, tell him, it's not as if he could have done anything anyway."

He smirked at Harry, who was confused and lost, and then walked away.

"What? Hermione, what was that for?"

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry, it's really my fault, I didn't want to tell you before."

"Tell me what?" Harry said, feeling dread building inside him.

"You see, Dumbledore arranged that Malfoy and I opened the ball. He practically ordered it, Malfoy was pissed off and tried to get himself out of it, but the Headmaster didn't give up, and we are going to have to dance together… Harry?"

Harry was looking at her in shock; he paled first, then slowly reddened as anger built inside him.

"The son of a bitch! I'm going to kill him!"

"Take it easy Harry." she smiled at her friend, Harry was not amused.

"I can't believe you accepted that Hermione! What's wrong with you lately?"

"Nothing's wrong Harry. The Headmaster told us to open the dance; it's going to be just the first dance."

Harry shook his head in disbelief; he just couldn't understand that Hermione was getting the situation so fine.

"That's incredible Herm. You are acting as if he is an old friend! You seem to have forgotten all the things he had done to us!"

"I haven't forgotten Harry. I just think that every one has to have the opportunity to change that's all."

"Herm…" Harry sighed in defeat; he didn't know what else to say. "What about… you know, your secret friend?"

Hermione's cheeks tinted a little, but she smiled again at her friend.

"Don't worry about him Harry, he knows about the ball and we'll be dancing together afterwards." Hermione's eyes brightened with mischief, it was a strange sight and Harry almost giggled because of it. Ron interrupted them at that moment.

"Stupid Bludger won't stay quiet! Harry you're not changed yet."

"Well, I was waiting for you mate."

"Let's go then. You wana come 'Mione?"

The girl looked scandalized.

"On your dreams Weasley! I'll see you both later."

And she left them to change clothes, intent on finding Malfoy and see if he was all right.

* * *

Severus Snape walked along the corridors to the hospital wing to check on his godson, the boy had taken quite a fall but he had won the game, McGonagall was upset, she had bet a dinner to Gryffindor winning the Quidditch tournament this term, Severus had the satisfaction to remind her of his favorite meal. 

He arrived at the hospital wing in time to see Miss Granger getting out of it and walking away to Gryffindor tower without seeing him, the potions' master smiled to himself, it would take no time for those two to break the news now, he was going to have to be alert in case someone 'unfriendly' caught them before they were ready. He schooled his features and entered the infirmary.

Draco was being checked by Pomfrey on one of the beds, he scowled upon seeing his Head of House arrival, he was still annoyed with the man.

"Good evening Pomfrey, I expect that there is no problem with my student."

"Good evening Professor Snape. I'm just started but it seems that he's fine."

A couple of minutes later, Madam Pomfrey declared Malfoy in good health and the boy had permission to leave. The blond and the potions' master got out of the infirmary at the same time that Potter came in accompanied by Weasley; Draco smirked at the brunette, who glared at him, and continued his way.

Once in the dungeons, Snape decided to wait until the boy talked first, he knew his godson now knew the truth, he had have an interesting insight in Granger's mind the day she had come to thank him for saving her mother, he didn't use legilimency on the students but this time he was too curious to see how things were going between the two teenagers, that he couldn't help but to pry a little. He had the bonus of finding out an interesting thing that Draco didn't know yet, the girl still had her doubts, but Snape was almost wishing it proved true, that would tie the two youngsters even more.

Draco waited until they were almost reaching Slytherin's entrance to speak, knowing that his godfather would understand him.

"It was not funny."

"Why? I was pretty amused myself."

Draco glared at his uncle and they continued walking without further comments on the matter.

* * *

Hermione looked at her selection of cd's in careful consideration, she wanted to dance with Draco, she had become tired of looking him dance with someone else at their dance group, and she didn't want to wait until the ball. Draco and Harry had have no important injury despite the impressive collision they took, and Malfoy had ushered her out of the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey caught her worrying about him, promising her that they would have a fine night. 

She finally choose one and put it on the cd player, just in time to hear Draco entering the room, she smiled and with a wave of her wand the room was lit completely, Draco was startled but he only raised an eyebrow at her.

"I want to practice a little dance with you."

Draco was amused at this.

"What? Don't you have enough dancing every weekend?"

"Not with you, and we should have some practice before the ball; don't you think so?"

Draco rolled his eyes at her, but he lowered his sight to the cd player.

"So, what are we going to have?"

"You'll see."

Hermione pushed the play button and Draco helped her to her feet, walking her to the middle of the room, soon the notes of a waltz were heard upon, Draco smiled and started guiding his partner, the music had lyrics and Malfoy found himself paying attention to them.

_Yo andaba buscando la muerte _

_cuando_ _me encontré contigo._

_Yo andaba buscando la muerte _

_cuando_ _me encontré contigo._

_De ahí tengo el corazón_

_en_ _dos mitades partido._

He recognized the language as Spanish, but he never had heard the waltz before, he couldn't make out the meaning of the words right away.

"What's it saying?"

"Something like '_I was looking for death when I found you, from then on my heart is broken in two'_"

"Mmm, where did you get that from?"

"My parents bought the Cd in one of their trips; I think it's from Mexico."

"Nice."

Draco listened to the last paragraph of the lyrics trying to understand the words.

_La dicha se quedó contigo_

_ya_ _es eterna la alegría._

_Aunque han pasado los años_

_nunca_ _olvidaré aquel día._

"Seems to have a happy ending though." He said as the waltz finished and he guided Hermione to a final turn.

"I like it very much. Thank you for the dance."

Draco's arms surrounded her waist and he didn't let her go.

"You should be very grateful; after all you spoiled my fun with Potter."

"You are evil Draco, poor Harry was beyond himself with worry."

"That's what he gets for being so naïve, and I won the snitch nonetheless." He said much too proud of himself, he started to guide them both to their 'bed' "Let's not talk about Potter; there are better ways to spent our time."

He kissed her lips hungrily, demanding entrance and Hermione was ready to comply, Draco soon had them both on the blankets and cushions, he quickly dimmed the light of the room and started getting rid of her clothes. They made love passionately that night, Malfoy put all his effort to make sure that Hermione felt completely possessed by him and stop thinking in everything else. At the end both of them were exhausted and satisfied, Draco laid besides the girl and pulled her into his embrace, giving soft tender kisses to her temples and playing with her hair.

"You're mine Hermione. Never forget it."

"I won't"

She snuggled closer to him, and Draco found a clean blanket to wrap themselves in, the dungeons could get chilly sometimes. Hermione was enjoying the shared warm very much, but an inconvenient thought appeared in her head, she sleepily asked to her lover:

"We shouldn't be cuddling, it's late."

She yawned and Draco chuckled at her commentary.

"Just a little while longer, I'm enjoying your warmth so much right now. A few minutes won't hurt."

"Mmm."

Hermione's arms tightened around Malfoy's waist and she hid her face on his neck, soon both of them fell asleep in happy oblivion.

* * *

Malfoy waked up slowly and tightened his embrace around the smooth female body curled against him and smiled in contentment, he smelled the fragrance of her hair and blew tenderly on the unruled brown locks lifting his hand to play with them a little not wanting to wake her yet, he wanted to be cuddled with her in their bed a little longer. 

"My, my. You sure are a sight like this Malfoy!"

Draco froze for a second until the familiar voice registered in his brain, and then turned sharply to look at a very amused Blaise sitting over a cushion at the end of the blankets.

"Zabini! What the hell are you doing here! How could you get in?"

The black haired boy waved a well known ring in front of the blond and smirked.

"You never asked it back, do you?"

Malfoy growled and attempted to sit upright and cover Hermione at the same time, it was no use, he was sure that Blaise had had plenty of time to recognize who was with him. The girl in question moaned as she attempted to clung to Malfoy's body, Draco was fully concentrated on Zabini's reaction, already thinking in a way to shut the boy's mouth, he wouldn't have him ruin this.

"Why are you here Zabini and what do you want?"

"Easy man. You weren't in your room and it was clear that you hadn't slept in it, so I supposed you would be here. I thought that you'd appreciate being told that you missed Sunday's breakfast."

Malfoy felt his mouth drop and stared at Blaise, trying to figure out if his friend was lying to him.

"What! Sunday? Don't tell me it's morning already!"

Blaise's huge grin was answer enough, Draco groaned in frustration, they had spent the night in their, not so secret, room. At his side Hermione moved and moaned, slowly waking up, she lifted her head and looked around sleepily.

"What's going on Draco?"

"Wow, first name already. How long have you two been fooling around?"

Draco growled at Zabini in annoyance and Hermione noticed the black-haired boy, she gasped in surprise and tried to pull as much blanket as she could over herself, Blaise smirked at her.

"Hello Granger."

"What's he doing here?"

"Apparently we overslept pet. Zabini kindly came looking for me." Said Malfoy seriously and with a quick move he grabbed the front of the other boy's shirt and pulled to be face to face with his housemate. Blaise gave a yelp of surprise at the treatment and then stared into the cold gray eyes of Malfoy who hissed threateningly at him.

"And he will wish he was dead if he so much as breathes one word about this to anyone."

The intensity behind the words surprised Zabini, but he only arched his brow at Malfoy and answered coolly.

"Don't worry Dray. Who else if not me would keep your secrets safe?"

"You better continue doing it Zabini."

Draco let his friend go and Blaise made a show of fixing his clothes.

"You are a barbarian Draco. I'll never know how you manage to conquer so many girls."

"Zabini!"

Hermione couldn't help but giggling at Blaise's unrepentant face, the black haired Slytherin winked flirtingly at her and Malfoy suddenly wanted to strangle him, luckily for the intruder Malfoy's wand was beyond the blonde's reach.

"Zabini! Go away already!"

"Jealousy is not a good trait Draco, you have to learn to share. You know Granger? He's always complaining about how jealous my girlfriend is, and he's the one who always throws a tantrum when someone denies him…"

"Zabini, if you don't shut up I'm going to send Alice our pictures of Italy."

Blaise closed his mouth with an audible click and scowled at Malfoy.

"Now if you'll be so kind as to leave us alone."

Blaise's face brightened.

"Why? Are you going to take long? Because if you miss lunch too it would be suspicious and…"

"Zabini! Get out now!"

Blaise smirked and stood up, walking obediently towards the secret door, as he opened it he turned once more and looked intently at Hermione.

"Nice blush Granger."

He dodged the pillow that was thrown his way and exited the room happily.

"Mph. Some friend." Malfoy muttered, glaring at the now closed entrance, Hermione moved at his side.

"Draco, is he going to be a trouble?" The blond turned and petted her hair.

"Don't worry about him pet. I'll deal with Blaise later, now it seems that we have missed breakfast."

Hermione bolted upright and started fumbling for her clothes.

"Oh shit! Do we really fall asleep that long? Oh please, please, don't let anyone realize that I'm not in my dorm! What's so funny Malfoy!"

Draco chuckled at her outburst and reached to embrace her.

"Take it easy pet, we are already late, it's no use to worry about it."

"But what if somebody asks?"

"You tell them that it's not their bloody business, really Hermione, it's not as if anyone looks for the head girl on a Sunday!"

Hermione glared at him, but supposed that he had a point, it was no use to worry; while they got dressed she recovered her wits enough to start asking questions.

"Draco, how could Blaise find us? And how come he could enter the room?"

"We used to fool around once in a while; sometimes we spent the night here. Is that a problem Granger?" He asked cautiously, while in the wizarding world bisexuality was a common occurrence, he was well aware of the fact that muggles weren't fond of different aspects of sexuality, he'll hate to know that Hermione was narrow minded on that particular subject, and he waited her answer with some apprehension, the girl seemed to consider his question.

"Well, no, not really. As long as you're not planning on changing me for him." she said seriously, Malfoy smiled and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't worry love, I very much prefer you. Besides, he has his own half now."

Hermione was quiet for a while and then she said slowly.

"You called me love."

Malfoy tightened his embrace and sighed.

"Yes, I think I did."

She stayed silent for a while more, and then breathed.

"I love you."

Hermione made it to Gryffindor common room without being seen and sneaked to her room hurriedly. Luckily no one seemed to have taken notice of her night absence and she excused her lack of breakfast attendance pretending to have a heavy headache, only Harry looked at her suspiciously, but she ignored him, she felt really happy that day and she allowed herself to forget about problems and just live in her personal world, where not even her friends could bother her.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late updates, real life has been pretty demanding lately. Thanks you all for your reviews. 


	19. Jealousy

**Chapter19 Jealousy**

Hermione woke up one Wednesday feeling really sick, she got up and ran to the bathroom to throw up, felling the nausea still after she had nothing left in her stomach, it was the third day in a row that she had morning sickness. The girl had been waiting for it, this time she had been counting her days carefully since her last period, Hermione already had the feeling that this time the pregnancy was unavoidable, but she wanted to be sure, it could only be a trick of her mind again. There was a special potion that would help her to clear her doubts but she didn't have all the ingredients, the girl supposed that she would have to raid professor Snape's storage cabinet again, she didn't really want to but had to be sure of her state, so she could take the necessary precautions; maybe Harry would be willing to help her.

She didn't want to tell Draco her suspicions yet, their relationship had surprisingly strengthened over the last days, but she still was a bit unsure of its durability, it was a lack of self esteem on her part but she couldn't help it.

Her personal life apart, Hermione was glad that the animosity between Slytherins and Gryffindors was slowly disappearing. Draco seemed to be over his jealousy to Harry, in the two weeks that had passed by since Slytherin won the Quidditch cup, the two boys had softened to each other considerably, they talked civilly more times than not and the interchange of glares had lessened, they still yelled and taunted each other when they had a disagreement, but those verbal fights were perceptibly less aggressive than before, and she had stopped to expect seeing hexes flying whenever they start their rants. The rest of Slytherin had sensed the change too and they were slowly opening themselves, following the lead of Malfoy into making acquaintances and possibly allies with the Gryffindors.

Ron was another matter entirely, he was one of the, thankfully few, people that still was fixated in House rivalry and considered the Slytherins as unwanted nuisances, Hermione had tried to make an effort to be more understanding towards him for their friendship's sake, but she soon realized that the best she could do was to ignore his derogative comments and complains about the situation. She wasn't comfortable around Ron any more, the red-head was now pestering her about how her current personal situation demanded a family that supported her and helped with her mother's condition, Ginny had started to comment on it too, both Weasleys seemed to think that now she would be willing and inclined to marriage.

Hermione shook her head sadly thinking about Ron, why couldn't he still be a good friend? It didn't seem fair, but she would have to be even more distant from now on, she only hopped that Harry wouldn't be driven away also.

She took a shower and changed on her school uniform, and after a while she went downstairs to the common room to join her friends for breakfast, Harry was waiting in one of the armrests of a couch and Ron was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi Harry. Where's Ron?"

"He says that we can go ahead, he had lost one shoe and is making a mess of his room looking for it."

"Just the thing to be expected of Ron." She said exasperatedly, Harry looked amused.

"Come on Herm, we can walk slowly to give him chance to catch up with us."

They left the common room, not aware of a pair of eyes following them.

* * *

Parvati was sitting in one of the armchairs of the common room, pretending to hear to Brown's chatter. She was not happy, last night she and Lavender were into the sixth year's dormitories, listening to a bit of good music when Ginny Weasley had entered with an annoyed look on her face, of course all the girls asked what had happened to her, the answer wasn't to anyone's liking, and Parvati was still fuming about it. How that old cot of a Headmaster dared? It was a social movement that wasn't going to be out-looked by the purebloods and the man knew it! She had to do something about it. Ginny had been pretty annoyed and had asked for support as she wasn't supposed to do anything about the situation, in fact the Weasley girl had swore she wouldn't say a thing about it, but she had been so frustrated that she had needed to share it with her friends. 

The girls had suggested to talk with the Headmaster and make him change his decition, but Parvati was sure that it won't work, and as things were going she was sure that Granger was happy to comply with the old cot's wishes, she would do everything that would mean an advantage to her dear Potter and having the purebloods reconsidering their social positions would surely be an advantage.

She glared in annoyance when Potter and Granger left the common room, she had to find a way to force the Headmaster to reconsider his orders, or to make it impossible for Granger to follow them, and she had to tell the others about this development. The arrival of Weasley to the common room distracted her out of her thoughts, a look of consideration on her face, perhaps it was time to have a bit of trouble, Ron could be of use after all.

* * *

Harry and Hermione walked slowly to the Great Hall, each one lost in their own thoughts, Hermione was already plotting how to enter Snape's private storage and Harry was worried over his training and the last news from the Order, they suspected that Voldemort had another big attack in mind and that it was going to be soon. 

They entered the Great Hall and encountered with Malfoy, Zabini and Goyle who were on their way out, Gryffindors and Slytherins nodded to each others in civil acknowledgement and each party continued their own ways. The Gryffindors hadn't taken more than two steps towards their table when the doors of the Great Hall opened noisily and Ron's angry voice was heard, startling everyone in the vicinity.

"You! You self-centered son of a bitch! You better stay away from her!"

Harry and Hermione spun on their feet in time to see an almost feral Ron cast a hex to a very surprised Malfoy.

"Ron! No!" Hermione's very distressed yell came followed by Harry running towards their friend.

It were only his acute reflexes that allowed Malfoy to duck the hex in time, he was instantly on his feet, wand out, casting an ugly jinx to Ron, the red-head had already cast another spell a fraction of a second before Malfoy and the two lights of magic collided, sending sparks everywhere. Harry cast "Expelliarmus" to Blaise and Goyle who were already aiming at Ron and then to Malfoy, preferring very much to have the Slytherin wandless than his friend, Ron took the opportunity to cast one more jinx that barely missed its target before Harry put himself in front of his temporally mad friend.

"Ron! What in hell are you doing?"

"Get out of my way Harry! I'm going to teach that scum a lesson!"

"What are you talking about Ron? What happened?"

"No one other than me is dancing with MY girl! That's what!"

Harry was stunned by that answer and looked at his friend in confusion; Ron shoved him to the side and prepared to attack again when his wand flew away to a very angry professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Weasley! What in the world are you trying to do?"

Ron ignored her, seeing his wand gone he opted for launch himself at Malfoy, who received him with a blow to the stomach, which unfortunately didn't prevent the two of them from going crashing to the floor. Goyle and Harry attempted to grab Ron and pry him off Malfoy, they barely succeeded and had to use their combined force to contain the shouting and outraged red-head, who was yelling obscenities at Malfoy, some of which Harry had never listened before. Zabini helped Draco to his feet and the Slytherin retrieved his wand, Harry was sure that a curse was on its way out of the blonde's mouth when Snape's furious voice thundered over them.

"What's the meaning of this!"

"That poor excuse of a slimy blond thinks he can go out with my girlfriend! Well he has another thing coming!"

"Mr. Weasley shut up already! This is unbelievable!"

Harry could clearly see that McGonagall was as murderous looking as Snape and that Hermione was as white as a paper, he felt greatly relieved to see that Seamus and Neville had run to the girl's side.

"Fifty points of Gryffindor Mr. Weasley! And you have to come with me to set your detention!" Said McGonagall in her most annoyed tone.

Harry was about to let go of his friend when he felt the boy's body tensing again and automatically strengthen his hold before Ron began struggling again, he felt Goyle at Ron's other side doing the same thing.

"Why? I'm protecting what is mine!"

"Mr. Weasley that's enough!"

Harry felt alleviated to hear Dumbledore's voice, surely Ron will calm down now, but to his utter surprise and dismay the Headmaster's presence seemed to infuriate the red-head even more.

"Don't you dare tell me that's enough!"

"Ron! Please stop this!" Harry pleaded; he could not imagine what had gotten into his friend's mind.

"Please? Please! Harry, do you know what this manipulative bastard had done? He had ordered Hermione to go to the ball with Malfoy!"

In the sudden shocked silence that had followed after the insult Ron just sputtered to the Headmaster, his last words reverberated in the entire Great Hall. Harry was speechless, Goyle was stunned and Ron freed from both of them to charge again at Malfoy, who was waiting him this time with his wand ready and cast a hex at him. Ron was thrown backwards and landed on his arse, suddenly his neck started to grow in a curious way.

"You are a stupid moron Weasley. And I have no idea what nonsense you're talking about!"

Malfoy was fuming. How had the stupid git dared? Hermione was in troubles now, the Dark Lord's supporters won't let this slip, and he knew that nothing he could say now would remedy the situation, Ron's neck now gave the impression of a big balloon, the red head opened his mouth to let out a loud '_Croak'_ and the lump disappeared, only to start growing again. Dumbledore recovered from the shock and started giving orders.

"A hundred points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley and you're out of the extracurricular activities. Mr. Longbottom, please escort him to the Hospital Wing and then to my office. Minerva, Severus, come with me. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, I want you in my office in fifteen minutes. Every one else finish your breakfast."

Neville had to ask Goyle's help to drag a still struggling and now croaking Ron out of the Great Hall, while gossiping exploded over all the tables and Harry felt sick, he sighed and turned around to see if Hermione was alright, only to find her pale face in front of him, looking murderous, he retreated a step and she hissed lowly at him.

"You told him! And you promised you wouldn't!"

"'Mione I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

Which was blatantly true, he had sworn both to Hermione and himself that he won't even mention the ball to Ron in order to prevent this very thing from happening, he only had talked about it to Ginny last night, but she had promised not to tell anything to Ron.

"Then how could he find out? This is it Harry! I'm not trusting any of you ever again!"

Harry wondered how had she managed to yell in such a low voice and stared unhappily at her retreating back; the snarled voice of Malfoy behind him increased his unhappiness.

"And here I was, thinking that Gryffindors could actually have some brain cells in their heads."

"Shut up Malfoy! This doesn't concern you!" Harry was doing his best to keep his voice low as Malfoy was doing; fortunately everybody was busy with the gossip in their own tables.

"No? Do you realize Potter how many hexes I'll have to dodge from here until the end of term? If I'd known you were going to be as stupid as to share that information I would never had brought it to light in the first place! I suppose Granger did have a reason to not tell you!"

"Why did you do it then? You wanted to annoy me Malfoy! Don't tell me you just assumed I'll keep my mouth shut about the dare if I never was to know that the Headmaster was behind your supposed 'date' with Hermione, and you were just having fun with me!"

"Well I just assumed that you were smart Potter and would know that some people would get pretty dangerous towards me and Granger, should they even suspect something like we dancing together could in fact happen! Don't worry; rest assured that I won't make that mistake again!"

Malfoy got out of the Great Hall and Harry pursued him.

"Malfoy wait! What do you mean exactly with implying that Hermione could be in danger too?" Honestly he had only took in consideration the possibility of Ron and Malfoy hexing each others to next year, and probably doing some major damage to the hard acquired House's Unity, but the idea of Hermione being in any kind of danger had never crossed his mind. Malfoy looked at him coldly.

"You're not that idiot Potter, do you?"

A blank look on Harry's part was answer enough; Malfoy cursed the Gryffindor's foolishness inwardly.

"Tell me Potter, surely you're not that blind and do know that some ah… 'muggle hate' supporters are still around."

Harry nodded cautiously.

"Well, what do you think they'll do if they discovered that a pureblooded wizard, who happens to be the son of a wealthy, powerful family which alliances are general knowledge by now, would 'lower' himself to date a hated 'mudblood'? Surely you have enough social skills to imagine what that ball is intended to be Potter. Me and Granger dancing in said ball, at any time, would mean more than peace making between the Houses. Now, could you imagine anyone that wouldn't want it to happen?"

Harry's eyes hardened with dawning comprehension, fear and anger appeared an instant later, he shouldn't have left Hermione walk out of the Great Hall alone.

"Holly shit!"

He stormed to Gryffindor tower, followed by the annoyed glare of Malfoy.

"Imagination is a great tool."

Malfoy walked towards the dungeons, unlike Potter he had been sure to send Zabini to watch Hermione's back, it would do the girl no good if she was seen in his company now, but he trusted Zabini and knew that for the time being Hermione would arrive to Gryffindor tower safe.

* * *

Harry and Hermione walked to the Headmaster's office in a tense silence, the girl was still furious and didn't want to hear Harry's explanations and apologies. To think that she had been taking in consideration the idea of telling Harry about her relationship with Malfoy! Well that was out of the question now! Harry had well proved that he was unworthy of her trust. She will never tell him anything again! 

They found Malfoy already waiting at the gargoyle with professor McGonagall, who opened the entrance for them, the three teenagers climbed up the revolving stairs and entered to the office, the Headmaster received them gravely and offered tea and lemon drops, they sat unhappily in the armchairs and refused the offerings, there was an awkward silence before Dumbledore spoke.

"First of all, Harry. Are you aware of the situation here?"

At Harry's subdued nod, the Headmaster continued.

"Well I must ask if anyone of you could tell me the details that lead to the spectacle in the Great Hall. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, I must admit that, while it was not expressly forbidden to talk about the arrangements for the ball, I was expecting that you would keep it to yourselves until the last minute, perhaps tell about it only to your close friends as it seems to be the case. So, what happened?"

Malfoy took in a deep breath and answered.

"I made a deal with Potter on the Quidditch game, if I win then I would ask Granger to the ball, and he lost."

"And then," Hermione continued "Harry got worried and I told him that Malfoy and I would have to dance together anyway. He promised not to tell."

The Headmaster raised his eyebrows at them.

"That still doesn't explain why Mr. Weasley was informed of the situation or his rather lamented display at breakfast."

Harry blushed and answered in a low voice.

"Mmm. I suppose it's my fault Headmaster. Yesterday night I talked with Ginny, and I told her."

Hermione turned to him furiously.

"You told Ginny! How could you Harry! Didn't you think that she'll tell her brother?"

"She promised not to! And I told her because I was still a bit annoyed with the all thing, and she was insisting on making especial charms for you and Ron to dance the first piece of the night alone in the gardens! It was out of my mouth before I knew it!"

"She was making what?"

Hermione was even more furious now, Draco pitied Potter slightly, the Gryffindor boy tried his best to not look at Granger.

"She was pretty upset, but she promised me that she won't tell Ron, and I asked her what had happened a moment ago and she told me that it wasn't she the one who told him, although she accepted that she had shared it with her friends."

"Oh, so she didn't mind to start gossiping about me?"

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have confided in her, I thought that, well that she was trustworthy."

"It's not a fault to think that about your dearest friends Harry, but it seems that we are dealing with a serious case of jealousy here, if I would have been aware that you were in a relationship Hermione I wouldn't have forced the arrangement on you."

Hermione quickly turned red; Harry and Draco had the sudden urge to apparate somewhere very far away from Dumbledore's office.

"I don't have anything to do with that… that…!"

Malfoy couldn't stop himself.

"Poor excuse of a wizard?" That earned him a glare from Potter, but Hermione took his recommendation whole heartily.

"Yes! That poor excuse of a wizard! I don't have any relationship with him, nor would I ever want one!"

"Calm yourself my girl, take it easy."

"But it's so frustrating Headmaster! I have tried everything! From subtle tips up to tell him straight away that I don't want him as anything other than friend, I have punched him too and he doesn't listen! He had the guts to shout to the entire school that we are a couple, and he had no right to do it because it's not going to happen!"

Harry tentatively reached to Hermione's arm, trying to comfort her, the girl didn't deny him.

"Calm down Herm, please."

"Take it easy my girl, we will figure out how to fix this unexpected situation, but I think that you have to talk things clearly with Mr. Weasley, perhaps if Harry helps you to talk with him." Harry sighed and turned to the Headmaster.

"We had already tried professor, the only time he stopped his advances was when he got the crazy idea that Hermione and I were dating, and then he felt betrayed and stopped talking to us."

"I didn't want to lose his friendship Headmaster." Said Hermione, more relaxed now. "But if that is what it takes to make him leave me alone, I'm going to do it."

Dumbledore leaned in his chair with a thoughtful expression; he wouldn't have thought it from one of the Weasleys but what he had seen at the Great Hall spoke volumes about Ron's poor management of emotions, the boy was in the way to be an overly jealous and abusive partner, he would have to talk about it with Molly and Arthur. In the meanwhile he'd rather prefer to get the boy away from Hermione, he had proven to be pretty dangerous when jealous and the girl could get hurt, besides, he could not afford for the Weasley boy to interfere anymore with the recently developed relationship between Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger, he had already put them in danger and it would be detrimental for Dumbledore's plans.

"Maybe it would be healthy that you hold your ground my girl, stay away from him for a while, give your friendship a rest and give him time to cool and think things over."

"I'll do it Headmaster."

"Isn't that a little harsh Headmaster?" asked Harry, feeling that he should put some faith in Ron. "I mean, Ron can be pretty aggressive but he was trying to protect Hermione. Malfoy, well he has been our rival for six years, Ron's afraid that he's going to hurt Hermione."

The girl was about to snap at Harry, but Draco spoke first.

"Hurt her? And why should I bother Potter? He's doing all the job himself!"

Harry glared at the blond but couldn't find an appropriate honest answer to that, and he hated to recognize that the Slytherin was right. Dumbledore sighed and looked directly at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I'm aware that you have the same doubts as Mr. Weasley towards Mr. Malfoy right?"

"Yes sir, to be honest I would feel better if there was a little more distance between him and Hermione."

"Harry!" shouted Hermione, looking hurt by her friend's statement. Harry turned to her in mild surprise at her distressed tone, but the Headmaster continued.

"It's ok Miss Granger, after all there is a long rivalry here and too much prejudices on both parts, but my point is Mr. Potter, how did you react upon hearing the news?"

"Well, it wasn't so different from what Ron must have felt. I was pretty upset and annoyed and I wanted to strangle Malfoy, I did shout some foul names at him, even if he wasn't present at the moment, I couldn't believe that you were ordering Hermione to do this and I asked her why she was letting it to happen. I didn't approve of it and I'm still not agreeing with it!"

"So, you are unhappy with this decition."

"Yes, I am."

"Ah, but you mentioned something important Mr. Potter, you asked your friend for her reasons to do it."

"Well, yes, she's doing pretty much already for the House Unity, I don't think it is necessary for her to do more."

"Yes, but the fact is that you asked her opinion and respected her choice. I at least didn't hear any complains about it from you yesterday when we met; nor have I seen you trying to hex Mr. Malfoy at every opportunity. Do you see my point Mr. Potter?"

Harry sighed unhappily and nodded, he had to accept that seeing Ron so out of control had been frightening, he didn't want to know what would happen should the red-head discover that Hermione was dating someone. Malfoy took the chance to enter the discussion.

"Well, yes. Weasley is an idiot and all that, but I want to know what we are supposed to do now. We can't accept that what Weasley said is true."

Harry looked expectantly at the Headmaster while Hermione looked confused at Malfoy's statement.

"Why not?" she asked, Draco looked at her, mocking despair.

"Granger, I already explained it to Potter, don't make me repeat it."

Hermione looked at him frustrated and annoyed, he could see that at the moment she wasn't in the state to think things clearly, so he lifted his left arm and signaled his wrist.

"Remember this? Prospects to Death Eaters at Hogwarts?"

Harry was surprised that Malfoy was being so open in Dumbledore's presence, and even more that he was the only one that found Malfoy's attitude strange; he was going to get an explanation out of the Headmaster as soon as this mess was cleared. Hermione on her part looked at Malfoy thoughtfully for some seconds and then her face grew alarmed, Harry was prepared to tell her not to worry, but what got out of her lips when she faced the Headmaster was not what Harry had expected, neither do Malfoy.

"Oh Gods! It's true professor, Malfoy is now in great danger! We must do something!"

"What!"

"Merlin!"

Both boys gave simultaneous shouts of distress, Dumbledore was very amused by this, Malfoy even threw his hands to the air and slumped in his armchair.

"I give up! It's now official; Gryffindors have no sense of self-preservation!"

"Hermione don't worry about him! It's you the one who is in danger!"

Harry was in a state of disbelief. How could Hermione think about Malfoy first? The prat didn't have anything to worry about as far as Harry was concerned! The girl blushed in embarrassment and apologized.

"I'm sorry"

"No need to be, my girl." said the Headmaster happily. "You don't have to be sorry for worrying about the safety of your friends."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at the Headmaster and Harry stared wide eyed at the man, wondering when had the world gone crazy without him noticing, he finally sighed in defeat and slumped in his seat.

"I'm going to close my mouth and say nothing."

"Thanks Circe!"

"Shut up Malfoy!"

Professor Dumbledore finally got to explain them what they were going to do to try and minimize the damage, it required to tell a half lie and that Harry took the place of Hermione and Draco in the opening of the ball with whoever he wanted to invite, preferably a Slytherin, Malfoy suggested Bulstrode and was very amused watching the several shades of red that colored the Gryffindor's face.

"Bulstrode? But I wanted… well…"

"You already had one person in mind Mr. Potter?" asked the Headmaster interested.

"No! No, well… I was wondering…"

Hermione lifted her eyebrows in question at her friend, Malfoy was smirking delighted.

"Of course Potter, I think Nochland is pretty safe too, she shouldn't give you much trouble."

Harry turned and gaped to the blond, he would die of embarrassment soon.

"How do you know…?" he started to say and then shut his mouth, understanding that he had just given himself away, Malfoy's smirk turned into a devious smile.

"Oh, please Potter! Not everybody are as naïve as you! All the Slytherin girls had been teasing Artemisa endless since your last attempt at the DA group."

Harry was sure that he was going to be a case of spontaneous combustion, it was true that he had been paying more attention to the Slytherins lately and that Artemisa Nochland had caught his eye, she was a sixth year; white skin, black, straight, long hair, always in a ponytail; with a dreamy expression on her dark eyes, she had freckles and was an inch or two shorter that Hermione, pretty smart and good with protection spells, she talked very politely to him and had offered her help to tutor the second years in the cast of a patronus. Harry liked her and he had been meaning to approach her, but he hadn't had time to try it decently. Hermione smiled, she too had been aware of the feeble and rather poor attempts at friendship of Harry, it was one of the reasons she found Malfoy's jealousy so funny, everybody could see that Harry was too shy sometimes, that it was hard for him to talk with someone he liked.

Finally they agreed in that Dumbledore would make an official announcement at dinner, declaring that Harry was going to be the one to open the dance and that no one was being asked to pair with a specific person. Malfoy gave a rather exaggerated sigh of relief; Hermione however didn't seem so pleased.

"That means that Malfoy and I aren't going to dance together?"

Harry turned to look at her curiously, she sounded disappointed.

"Well, Miss Granger, it means that officially you two can go and dance with whoever you want. Of course, the fact that Mr. Potter and his partner are going to dance the first piece of the night doesn't mean that they had to do it alone."

Hermione thought about the implications of that statement and smiled briefly, the Headmaster was satisfied.

"Well, then I think that you can go Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy you can go too. Tachy!"

A house elf popped into existence and bowed.

"Tachy, tell Mr. Longbottom that Mr. Weasley can come in now."

"Yes, Headmaster sir!"

"Mr. Potter, I would like you to stay while I talk with Mr. Weasley, I may need your help."

"Yes sir."

Malfoy and Granger exited the office at the same time that Ron entered, Malfoy glared at the red-head and Hermione got past him without even looking, the last she heard were Ron's protests about her walking away in Malfoy's company and Harry's assurances that Neville will be accompanying her to lessons, before starting the descent on the revolving stairs.

* * *

Hermione and Neville were walking along the halls towards Gryffindor tower to retrieve their school supplies, everybody else were already at the classrooms. Neville was silent but his nervousness told Hermione that he wanted to say something; she sighed and turned to see him. 

"What is it Neville?"

"Um… well, I-I was wondering Hermione… Do you really have to dance with Malfoy?"

"No Neville, I don't have to. Professor Dumbledore would clear that misunderstanding at dinner."

"Oh, I see. And… the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"You know, that Ron and you finally are…"

"No Neville! There's nothing between Ron and me, he was talking nonsense!"

"Oh"

Neville sounded a little disappointed and the girl was about to snap at him, when a door to their left was suddenly thrown open and Hermione felt like she was being sucked into the room, both she and Neville soon found themselves on the floor of an unused classroom, hearing the door being closed and locked. The Gryffindors straightened and found three wands aiming at them.

"Well, well, well, seems like we have two for one. A mudblood and a blood traitor, we are lucky."

Hermione frowned at the three students in front of her, two were using masks and between them was that Hufflepuff girl Shatkins, Hermione almost made a face of disgust.

"You're not going to say you're lucky soon." She said to the girl and both she and Longbottom got out their wands.

Hexes and spells flew everywhere, Neville got hit by a binding spell, one of the masked boys got stunned and the other one with jelly legs before Hermione got hit by a silencing spell and disarmed, Shatkins lost no time in binding the Gryffindor girl and shoving her roughly to a corner of the classroom. Hermione felt a hard slap on her face and pain in her head when Febe yanked her hair to see her straight in the eyes.

"Stupid, filthy mudblood! You thought you could have a piece of him? Well you can't!"

The girl threw Hermione against the wall and let her fall to the floor, Hermione could see Febe's shoes close to her and Neville helpless near the door, the student that had been hit by the jelly legs jinx had cast the counter spell and was trying to stand up. Hermione was fighting panic, Shatkins hateful voice was definitely not helping.

"You want to dance mudblood? We'll see how good you do it with crippled legs!"

Hermione felt pain radiating from her right leg, it started as if she had split her ankle and then seemed like someone was hammering her bones, she opened her mouth and gave a scream that wasn't heard thanks to the silencing spell. She didn't notice the door being slammed open and the shouts and confusion that followed, while the classroom once again was filled with the light of several spells in an instant.

Hermione was trying very hard to regain her breath, and lasted several seconds to realize that she was being held by strong arms and that someone was anxiously shouting to her, she blinked a couple of times, the pain on her leg had lessened considerably but she still wanted to cry for it to stop, she heard her name and a hand forced her face to look at the person who was holding her, she blinked again and slowly Malfoy's features came into focus.

"Dr… Drac-o…"

She mildly realized that she could talk, Malfoy wasted no more time in pleasantries, he lifted her on his arms and started walking to the door. Hermione felt her head spinning for a moment and barely heard Malfoy telling Goyle to go fetch professor McGonagall, whose classroom was nearer, before the boy took a run down the hall, carrying her to the hospital wing.


	20. Surprises

**Chapter 20 Surprises**

Harry and Ron entered the common room hurriedly, they needed to retrieve their schoolbags and join their lessons as soon as possible. Ron was still grumpy and pissed off, and complaining about the unfairness of the situation.

"Would you believe she didn't wait for us? After what I did for her!"

"Yeah, well, you know Hermione; she probably hurried to class, besides she wasn't happy in the least with what you did. I wouldn't be surprised if she gives us the cold shoulder again."

"That would be not fair! She should have been grateful that I saved her from that ridiculous task! I just don't understand her!"

Harry only sighed tiredly, Ron had been very lucky to avoid getting expelled after he insulted the Headmaster in front of the entire school, though he wasn't a prefect anymore and Dumbledore made clear that he will serve detention with professor Snape. Harry hadn't told his best friend about the Headmaster's suggestion for Hermione to get away from him, the black haired boy wasn't planning to rise the Weasley's temper again, Ron had given him the scare of his life and he was actually starting to consider Dumbledore's suggestion as the best course of action, Hermione was stressed enough as it was, she didn't need the added weight of an over jealous Ron.

They got their school supplies and exited Gryffindor tower, wandering the halls a little while, they had already lost the first class anyway.

"Um, Ron. You didn't say; who told you that information about the ball?"

"Oh, it was really a coincidence, this morning when I was about to go catch you for breakfast I overheard Parvati talking about it with Lavender, and I only planted in front of her and asked the details."

"I see. But how Parvati knew?"

"She said that the girls were talking about it last night. Could you believe it Harry? She told her girl friends and didn't tell us! When we are the ones that could have helped!"

"Gee, seeing how you helped I wonder why she didn't confide in us." Harry said sarcastically, Ron rolled his eyes at him.

"Don't come telling me that I overreacted Harry! I'm not buying that shit that there was nothing going on and that no one had any idea of what I was talking about! Neither do I believe that Hermione is somehow in danger for what I did! I'm sure Malfoy was jumping at the opportunity to hurt her!"

Harry was silent, thinking that Malfoy had already had many chances to do damage, but the reality was that, this term, the main source of problems for the black haired boy had been his own friends, Malfoy had been pretty quiet and Harry was starting to suspect that if the Headmaster hadn't forced their mutual company with the Unity Project, they wouldn't be seeing head not hair of the blond, the Slytherin should probably be pretending that the Gryffindors didn't exist, like he did the previous term, he didn't even gloated about wining the Quidditch cup and what Dumbledore had said in his office was still rounding in Harry's head. The Headmaster had said that Malfoy and Hermione were friends. True that Malfoy had scowled at the suggestion but the blond hadn't made any effort to deny it. Harry shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, he must talk about it with Hermione, he was still reluctant to accept Malfoy's change of attitude for granted, but the day's events had made him wonder if perhaps Hermione was safer near Malfoy than close to Ron.

* * *

Hermione wasn't in the classroom when they arrived, she and Neville were absent the entire morning, by lunch time Ron was ready to go over to the Slytherin table to demand answers, he cursed himself for having let her get out of the Headmaster's office at the same time Malfoy did, he should have know that Neville couldn't take proper care of her. Harry had prayed they'd find their girl friend in the Great Hall but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Ron almost went ballistic again when Malfoy and Goyle entered the Great Hall, Harry had a hard time to convince his friend that going to Slytherin table, wand in hand, would not help. Ron only subsided when Neville sat in front of them, a tired and unhappy frown on his face, but before the two friends had any chance to ask the boy anything the Headmaster stood and called for silence.

"May I have your attention please? Good. I'm afraid that the events of this morning had made necessary a clarification regarding the end of term's ball. First I'd like to make clear that no one at any moment was ordered to dance with, or to date, a specific person."

Harry could hear Ron muttering foul words under his breath and ignored him, surprised to hear professor Dumbledore giving the news at lunch instead of dinner.

"That means that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger are, and always had been, free to dance with whomever they want, and it is to my understanding that both of them already have possible partners."

Some of the students turned to the Slytherin table, where Malfoy had his arm around a sixth year girl. Harry was for the first time very alert at every movement of his schoolmates and was quite surprised to see that some of them gave nods of approval, the Slytherin however didn't seem to have noticed any of them.

"Secondly, I'm glad to say that Mr. Potter is going to open the dance."

A murmur extended along the Hall to these words, Harry blushed in embarrassment.

"Finally, I have to make an official announcement. Mr. Ronald Weasley is no longer a prefect; Mr. Potter is taking his place for the remaining of the term. That's all, now we can proceed with the lunch."

Everyone started chattering animatedly, Harry scowled thinking again about Hermione, Ron's annoyed voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm glad that the old man came to his senses, but he could have given that last announcement only to Gryffindor."

Harry sighed and faced Neville; the boy was looking him back, waiting for the inevitable question.

"Nev, where's Hermione?"

"Oh yes!" said Ron hurriedly. "We hadn't seen her since she got out of the Headmaster's office. What happened Neville?"

"Well, she's fine; she's in the Hospital wing." Neville moved by instinct a little to the left to be completely out of Ron's immediate reach.

"What!" Ron was red-faced in an instant; Harry grabbed his arm to prevent him from stood. "That fucking ferret! What did Malfoy do Neville!"

"Ron, please be quiet!"

"Don't quiet me Harry! I knew the slimy ferret would try something like that! And you and Dumbledore didn't want to listen!"

Harry was sure that they were now the centre of attention of Gryffindor table; thankfully Neville interrupted Ron before he dragged the other Houses' attention as well.

"It wasn't Malfoy. It was that Hufflepuff girl, Shatkins."

"Shatkins?" said Harry, utterly surprised. "She attacked you both?"

"Yes, she and other two students, one was Crabbe, the other was a Ravenclaw, I'm not sure who, professor McGonagall… uh, well, she kind of found us and took us all to the hospital wing."

"You see Harry? That blond bastard had done it!"

"I said it wasn't Malfoy!" said Neville indignantly, Ron looked at him menacingly.

"You said Crabbe was with them. No?"

"W-Well, yes, but…"

"Don't you see it? Malfoy sent one of his cronies to do the dirty work!"

Ron stood and walked away angrily, Harry hurried to catch up with him, luckily the red head didn't head for the Slytherin table, he went straight for the doors, Harry exited too but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Neville behind him.

"Harry wait! I have something to tell you."

"Neville, you can tell me later."

"No, it's important Harry."

"Well." Harry looked at the retreating figure of Ron and prayed that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let his friend see Hermione before he arrived. "Ok, what is it Neville?"

"You know, Crabbe and the other boy, they had masks Harry, like the Death Eaters' ones."

"Masks?" Neville nodded and Harry got his hands through his hair. "You must tell Dumbledore."

"McGonagall already did it, professor Dumbledore was in the hospital wing a moment ago."

"I suppose that explains why he didn't wait until dinner to make his announcement. I know that Crabbe had not been on good terms with Malfoy lately, but I wish we could be sure that he didn't have anything to do with all this."

"He didn't Harry."

"How can you know that Neville?"

"Because Malfoy was the one who helped us! He knocked out Shatkins and Crabbe and sent Goyle for McGonagall, he was the one who took Hermione to the hospital wing and professor Dumbledore interrogated him there."

Harry mulled that over, contemplating the possibilities.

"It could have been a set up."

"Well, I doubt it Harry. Crabbe and the other boy are going to be a long time in the infirmary, I think that Shatkins had it easier only because she's a woman, but believe me, I have never seen Malfoy so… furious with anyone, not even when he's casting hexes at you."

Harry didn't know what to think, Malfoy helping Hermione and Neville didn't go well with his mental image of the blond, there must be something escaping him and he didn't like it. One thing was certain, now Malfoy was going to have more points to his favor in Hermione and the Headmaster's eyes. Harry frowned, he'll have to confront Dumbledore and get some answers.

"Thanks Neville. I'll see you later."

"Ok Harry."

The new Gryffindor prefect headed to the hospital wing, hopping against hope to arrive before Ron had time to do much damage.

* * *

Malfoy was in Slytherin's common room, staring at his transfiguration essay without really seen it. He was still preoccupied, Shatkins had cast a very painful curse on Hermione and she had done it right. Fortunately he had arrived in time to avoid any permanent damage and the Gryffindor girl would be out of the hospital wing the next morning, but Draco couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled on him. He had spied Madam Pomfrey talking hurriedly to Dumbledore with a very worried frown on her face; the Headmaster had been calm and evidently had tried to ease the mediwitch without much success. Madam Pomfrey had had that unhappy frown when she had announced McGonagall and Longbottom that Hermione was going to be in perfect health soon, the Gryffindors were greatly relieved and didn't ask for more details, but Draco was not satisfied, there was something that the mediwitch wasn't telling them, surely on Dumbledore's orders, and the Slytherin didn't like it.

He wanted to know if something was wrong with Hermione, the fact that Dumbledore was smiling when he finished his little talk with Pomfrey actually increased Malfoy's unease, he never had trusted the old man, and now that he was certain that the Headmaster had something in mind regarding his relationship with Hermione, he liked him even less. Dumbledore was a manipulative old fox and Malfoy didn't like that the man knew something about Hermione that he didn't, it was like handing a weapon to a terrorist and gave him free access to the target. The Headmaster already had too much knowledge for Malfoy's comfort, the boy longed for the end of term when he would be able to take Hermione away from that meddling man.

The implications of that last thought suddenly hit him and he groaned in frustration, realizing for the first time that after graduation he wouldn't have a place to go. All of the Malfoy's states were out of the question and he was sure the Dark Lord would find him wherever he went. Hermione had lost her home in the muggle world, but she could always stay with Potter or the weasel, and Draco would not ask hospitality from either one, no way, not in a million years, nothing would ever force him to accept help from Potter, even if somehow the brunette offered it.

Malfoy tiredly massaged his temples, he knew he needed help and he hated it, he also knew that he was refusing any kind of help that could came from Potter out of pure stubbornness, besides he was sure that the Gryffindor would probably let the Dark Lord kill him before trusting a Malfoy and Draco certainly preferred to keep his distance from the dark haired boy. That only left him with two options, none of which made him happy in the least.

One was to go to his godfather, which Malfoy didn't want to do, he loved and respected the man and was really happy knowing that he wasn't one of the Dark Lord's toys, but he didn't want to ask Snape for help, he should be capable of solving his own problems, he wanted his godfather to be proud of him, he wanted to show the man that he could take care of himself.

The other one was Dumbledore. To ask the old man for help and let the bastard have full reign on his life. Malfoy cringed at the thought, suddenly asking Potter for help didn't look as humiliating as a moment before.

Draco sighed considering his options. Killing himself had been such a nice way out of everything, but now it was out of the question. He could always disappear from England, went far away and hope that the Dark Lord would be taken care of, but that would mean leaving Hermione behind, he knew the girl well enough to be sure that she wouldn't be willing to leave and abandon her friends and mother in the current situation, she would stay by their side until all hope was lost, which probably would happen when they all were dead. For him that meant that run away was as good as suicide.

Draco looked around the Slytherin common room, many of his housemates were busy with homework, some of them worrying about O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S., Goyle could be seen beside Bulstrode with a frown on his face that evidenced his utter lack of comprehension of whatever it was she was reading.

Malfoy scowled again, returning to his thoughts, he didn't like the idea of giving himself over to Dumbledore, he wanted the old cot out of his life, to bring Potter instead was painful but more bearable; at least both of them had already stopped trying to kill each other.

Damn his father! It was Lucius' fault that Draco was on this dilemma, if the man hadn't stupidly gave his family name's loyalty to the Dark Lord's cause, Draco would still have a house to return to. More so, if his father had only stayed in Azkaban, the boy would have full reign over the family vaults and he could use the money as he pleased. But with Malfoy senior being a convicted Death Eater the money and states were under strict vigilance of the Ministry of Magic, which was only waiting an opportunity to confiscate it all. If by any chance the Dark Lord happened to lose the war, the Malfoy family would be ruined and would drag an important number of the purebloods down with it. The alternative was that the dark side won, and then it wouldn't matter to Draco because that would mean his own death.

Malfoy groaned inwardly, his only hope now was that somehow Dumbledore managed to win, that would save his life but not his family name and wealth, to recover that he needed the Malfoy's to be acknowledged as completely loyal to the light side and for that to happen he would need not only to fight side by side with Potter, in fact, Draco knew that not even if he killed the Dark Lord himself would be enough to save his family status, for that he needed to be the Head of the family, he needed his father dead before the man had a chance to officially disown him. The idea did nothing to improve the blonde's mood.

* * *

Hermione was lying awake on the bed at the Hospital wing, waiting for Draco to make his appearance, the Slytherin had promised to come over after curfew so they could sneak out to see her mother and talk. She was nervous, when Malfoy had carried her almost unconscious form in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had cast several spells on her to know the extent of the damage, and after that another round of spells to evaluate her general state of health.

The girl sighed inwardly; well at least she wouldn't have to worry anymore for procuring the ingredients of the pregnancy test potion. Madam Pomfrey had been pretty indignant and had demanded to know who the father was, no doubt intending to give them both a lecture on responsibility and to make painful remarks about the stupidity of teenagers. Luckily Dumbledore had respected her wish to keep the name of her partner a secret, and they agreed in that they wouldn't even tell McGonagall about her new situation.

The mediwitch had been annoyed and worried at the same time, and Hermione had have to endure a long talk full of instructions, books to read and veiled admonitions. Then Ron had came asking for her and Madam Pomfrey had almost going ballistic, she raged about irresponsible actions and unwanted repercussions, emphasizing the dangerous times the wizarding world was immersed in and the importance to think before acting. Obviously the woman had assumed that Ron was the one who impregnated Hermione and the girl had almost laughed at it, Ron, who had have no idea of what was happening, assumed that Madam Pomfrey was berating him for the breakfast scene and had started an angry retort to the mediwitch when Harry had arrived and managed to silence the red head. Madam Pomfrey however had plainly refused to grant them entrance, claiming that Hermione needed rest, which was true but who could rest with all the yelling taking place at the doorway? Hermione had caught a glance of a worried Harry before the mediwitch had told them that their friend would be back in Gryffindor tower the next day and had closed the door in their faces.

After that, all had been blessedly silent and Hermione had had pretty much time to think. She was annoyed at the fact that the old witch had managed to make her feel ashamed of what she did, the woman had made it seem as if the girl had done the greatest stupidity of all her life, as if her child would be an insuperable obstacle, a burden to carry.

It wasn't a surprise after all, Hermione hadn't expected anyone to understand her choice, but still she couldn't take out of her head the thought that now Madam Pomfrey considered her an irresponsible girl, who didn't know what was best for her. She felt dejected and had even started to wonder if perhaps, it would be better to not have the child.

She angrily shoved the thought away. She hated that the mediwitch had made her doubt of her ability to raise a child. Maybe getting pregnant wasn't the most intelligent thing she had done, but it had been her choice, and she was going to take her responsibility and have her baby, and she would be a loving mother and take care of it properly, no matter what other people think, they didn't have a say in her life.

Once that was settled she started to worry about Malfoy, considering whether she should tell him or not, what if he wanted her to be rid of the baby? What if he didn't want anything to do with it? Hermione had already been thinking that she may become a single mother, but still hearing a rejection from her child's father would hurt greatly. The girl didn't know what to do, Draco was bound to know sooner or later, it was just a matter of how to tell him, she supposed it would be best if she told him as soon as possible.

Hermione shifted in the bed uneasily, she wanted to tell him, she wanted to believe that he'd be happy and willing to stay with them, that her child would grow up with a loving father. Their relationship had changed since the first time they met, it wasn't a casual affair anymore, Draco was more caring, to the point that he had let slip some inconspicuous tender gestures in front of an audience, Hermione was sure that the Slytherins knew something was going on, the rest of the school was still oblivious to it, but the important thing was that Draco had started to show her love, real love, not only possessiveness.

There was a faint noise and the door of the hospital wing opened, the girl sat straight on the bed, perhaps she should risk it, Hermione watched as Malfoy's shadow silently approached her bed and made up her mind. She would tell him and trust that he wouldn't shove her away.

* * *

Draco had to carry Hermione up to the ward where her mother was because the girl couldn't walk; her leg still hurt and wouldn't support her weight. They shouldn't be sneaking away from her bed, in fact she should wait at least another day to get out of the infirmary, but the Gryffindor girl had refused to lose any more classes. Draco was quietly berating her for her stubbornness when they arrived at her mother's side and he deposited her on a chair.

Hermione looked at the closed eyes of Mrs. Granger for a long time, wishing her mother would wake up and help her to overcome the nervousness. Draco stood behind her and started to massage her shoulders, Hermione sighed and slowly relaxed to his touch, willing it to never stop.

"How are you feeling pet?"

"Much better, thanks."

They both fell silent and the Gryffindor was about to suggest Draco to sit when he leaned into her ear and nibbled at it, causing shivers to run through her body, she sighed in contentment, almost missing his hushed words.

"Herm, did Madam Pomfrey told you something more about your injury?"

"Well, no. There would be no repercussions; the curse was stopped in time."

"Just because I didn't trust Neville to be a competent help and followed you."

"Draco, Neville is pretty good at a fight, they surprised us."

Malfoy huffed, not convinced; Hermione could tell that something was worrying him.

"What's the matter Draco?"

"There's something that Dumbledore didn't want Madam Pomfrey to tell, and she wasn't very happy about it. Do you know what it is?"

Hermione tensed, suddenly out of breath, Draco sensed her unease and went immediately to the point.

"You know. What is it Hermione?"

"Um, well. Actually I was going to tell you, I just couldn't figure out how."

"I was expecting it won't be that bad."

"No! No it's not bad. It shouldn't be bad."

"Then what is it?"

Hermione breathed deeply, Draco was still behind her, she thought about telling him to come around in front of her, but then decided that it was easier if he wasn't looking at her, so she fixed her eyes on her mother and braced herself for his reaction.

"I… I'm pregnant Draco."

She felt his hold on her shoulders tightening and the breath on her ear stopped for a second, then the boy straightened and his hands resumed the massage on her shoulders.

"So, that's what made Dumbledore so cheerful? The meddling bastard."

His voice was neutral, Hermione couldn't make out what was he thinking and that didn't ease her.

"Draco I… y-you don't have to take care of it, I can…"

"Shh. Don't get scared on me pet."

Malfoy's arms moved to embrace her and he pressed his cheek to her temple, Hermione lifted her hands to hold his forearms and leaned onto him.

"Do you want to keep it love?"

"Yes, I'm going to have it. I want this child Draco."

The slytherin tightened his embrace and kissed her cheek.

"Good."

Then he moved to get in front of her chair and leaned to kiss her lips, Hermione clung to his neck to kiss him back with happiness

After a while, Draco carried the girl back to her bed and sat her on it, Hermione was so happy with his acceptance of their child that she agreed to stay at the Hospital wing until lunch, the blond tucked her in bed and was about to kiss good bye when he scowled, a sudden idea hitting him, Hermione arched an eyebrow in question.

"Draco?"

"It's not fair!" he hissed indignantly, trying to not make much noise.

"What?" asked Hermione, suddenly fearful, Malfoy looked into her eyes.

"You're going to be excused from Quidditch. That's not fair!" Hermione was confused for a second and then smiled, remembering his quarrel over being forced to do gardening.

"Well, you could always try to get pregnant yourself, besides; it's only going to be a few weeks."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her, not amused in the least.

"That's not funny! And it's still not fair!"

She snickered mischievously at his hurtful pout and gave him a good long kiss to console him.

* * *

Later, Draco was walking along the corridors on his way to the Slytherin's dungeons. He was reassessing his situation, he had already decided to marry Hermione as soon as possible, but the baby had been an unexpected element that needed further consideration. It was clear that the girl wanted to have it, despite the fact that having a child to take care for would be highly inconvenient at the moment.

Malfoy wasn't sure that accepting the baby had been a good idea, but he couldn't bring himself to tell his doubts to Hermione, she had looked so happy when it had been clear that he wasn't deserting her that he had just shut up and his mind had started to sort out his possible options.

Inconvenient or not, the child was already there and Draco now had to worry for three instead of two, a family was a greater responsibility than a lover. He sighed inwardly, the end of term was approaching and he needed to find a safe place for Hermione and their child. He could always ask Dumbledore to allow them to stay in the castle, he would have preferred Potter's help, but now he needed someplace where they'd have easy access to a mediwitch, and as much as he loathed asking the Headmaster for help the truth was that he couldn't do pretty much without money and a place to go. He was really starting to hate his father.

There was still another option regarding the baby, but Draco didn't want to think about it. He and Hermione should be married within the year, after all he had all but announced her mother that they were a couple, the fact that Mrs. Granger surely wasn't aware of that was irrelevant, and besides, Dumbledore already knew about their relationship and that made it even more official. Malfoy sighed, it wasn't only a matter of tradition now, he knew they needed to marry before the child was born, otherwise… No, he was not going to even consider it, but…. Well it was an option, he was sure that Hermione didn't know, they could always wait until the year and she wouldn't know what happened….

Malfoy mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? Of course she would know! She was the smartest witch in Hogwarts, she would figure it out! They would marry as soon as they finished school and that would be the end of it! He was not going to act like his father! This child would have a better family than the one he had, even if he had to die for it!

Draco entered the deserted Slytherin common room and headed silently to his dormitory, once there he closed the door behind him, wanting to go straight to bed. The blond was exhausted; he only lit the lamp on his bedside table because he didn't want to sleep with his school uniform on. The boy changed clothes quickly and was about to let himself fall in bed when he noticed the two envelopes on it. Curiously he took one of them and his eyes widened in surprise upon seeing it was from his mother. He hurriedly opened it and read.

_My Draco,_

_Your godfather tells me that you're taking good care of yourself, I'm glad to hear that. I have some important things to tell you that couldn't wait until we see each other again._

_First of all, I'm no longer in the manor, I don't have any wish to follow your father in the pit he's drowning, nor do I want to be a bait if he considers that you would do what he wants if he applies the right pressure, I prefer to disappear until he no longer can come anywhere near me._

_I'm not leaving you alone; your godfather would help you with whatever you want. However, knowing you as I do, I'm sure that your pride won't let you to ask for help, even if your life depended on it. A Malfoy's trait, one of the things you and your father have in common. So I'm going to impose upon you, as I want to be sure that at least you wouldn't be pressured on money._

_If you remember, a part of the Black's fortune was inherited to me when your grandfather died, your father didn't add it to the Malfoy's vault so it's still in Gringots' Swiss branch, in a vault to my name._

_I'm transferring some of that money into a vault under your name, there are some papers you need to sign for the transaction to take effect, with that the money would physically stay in Switzerland_ _you can move it to London_ _later if you want._

_Keep your guard up my son, if you want to join me your godfather will tell you how._

_Goodbye my Dragon._

Malfoy opened the other envelop to study the Gringot's documents and check the figures, it wasn't bad, he signed immediately and the papers disappeared to be replaced for a contract with the wizarding bank.

Draco felt more at ease after that, money was not an issue anymore, the vault was fine in Switzerland for the moment, and he could take more time to consider his next move. His mother really was a gift from the gods.

* * *

Severus Snape arrived to the meeting point in a hurry, growling under his breath about being called in the middle of the night and to such a retired place in some unknown forest, which had forced him to use a portkey instead of apparating. He looked around him and noticed the big activity that was taking place; it seemed that all the Death Eaters were there, some of them congregating in a clearing and sitting in lotus position, starting a chant.

Snape scowled in annoyance, that meant that the rite had already begun, the Dark Lord was going to strike again and this time it seemed that the target would be a very important one. He hopped it wasn't Hogwarts yet, the new shields weren't finished and from what he had heard, Lucius Malfoy had found a way to make the rite shorter and more powerful at the same time; the son of a bitch, he was looking to be useful so the Dark Lord would overlook the absence of the Malfoy heir from his ranks. No doubt Lucius was going to try once again to pressure his son to take the dark mark, Narcissa had foreseen it too and had disappeared and thus Malfoy senior wouldn't use her to get to Draco.

Snape smiled inwardly, the young Malfoy was safe, and the recent report from Madam Pomfrey to Albus guaranteed that the boy would be unwilling to rejoin his father; he would soon have a family of his own to look for.

A harsh and commanding voice required his attention and he headed towards the source, ready to give his usual report to the Dark Lord and receive new orders.

* * *

Malfoy was fuming while brewing his potion at class, the previous day had been an exasperating one. First the weasel had confronted him at breakfast again, yelling some nonsense about getting away from the Gryffindors, of course he had ignored the idiot boy and had let Potter to handle him; the morning lessons had been all indications to report the final version of their projects and studying for the oncoming N.E.W.T.S., then at lunch he had had to deal with a newly released from the infirmary, crying and wailing Febe, who had been short to crawl at his feet in front of the entire Great Hall, he had shoved her away and told her in no uncertain terms to leave him alone, she had ended being taken away by some very embarrassed Hufflepuffs, and he had McMillan apologizing for the spectacle. That gave him a certain amount of satisfaction which was wiped away when he saw both Weasleys trying to force their company on Hermione, who was clearly trying her best to ignore them. Potter was attempting to help and drag his friends away from the bushy haired girl without much success. The tension between Gryffindor students was reaching a breaking point when suddenly Hermione had stood, shoved Ginny and Seamus out of her way and run out of the Great Hall in tears. Potter went after her and Malfoy exited close behind them, but the girl had gone to Gryffindor tower and no doubt had hid in her dormitory.

She wasn't seen the rest of the day until the DA group, where Draco was dragged into a heated argument between Potter and the weasel. The red head was angrily demanding entrance to the room of requirement and Potter was painfully trying to reason with him, seeing that Dumbledore had banned Weasley form the extracurricular activities. Ron was pissed off and outright stated that Malfoy should be banned too, Draco couldn't stop himself and had retorted that it hadn't been him the one who stupidly insulted the Headmaster in front of everyone. Weasley had launched at Malfoy with murder on his eyes and had been hit by no less than five spells from the Slytherins. After that, Potter had sent Weasley to the hospital wing and then started a long and tense DA session.

The present day was not starting well either, he had crossed words with Thorney, who blamed him for Marshall's imminent expulsion as soon as he had recovered from the curse Malfoy had cast him, as if it was Draco's fault that the idiot fool was carrying a Death Eater's mask while attacking the Head Girl, Shatkins had saved herself from expulsion only because she had been manipulated by Marshall and Crabbe.

Later he had found out that his godfather was gone again and that had him on his nerves. He didn't like that the man was risking his head like that, all this war business was stupid. Malfoy wished that the Dark Lord and Dumbledore arranged a one on one duel, killed each other and be done with it, so life could return to normality. Of course he knew that things weren't so simple, but he could always wish.

He looked around the classroom, everyone was immersed in their potions, professor Sinistra had let them the time of the class to finish the brewing of the 'Phoenix breath'. They had found many variations of the potion, based mainly on different ways to finish its brewing; the group had selected some of the most potent ones to present them along with the written report and had been brewing them over the past month.

Malfoy had an idea of what use Dumbledore would give to their potions should they were successful at brewing them correctly. He was proud to say that so far there had been no mistakes, he and Granger had been closely supervising the procedures and both were sure they would be the best potion's group Snape had ever had; which with the man's standards was a huge accomplishment.

He returned to his cauldron, after almost a month of simmering the potion was slowly changing color to clear amber, it would only need to cool for two days and then he could add the final ingredient for it to be perfect, beside him Potter was stirring his potion clockwise, his was a pale blue and would only need a day to cool. Malfoy was impressed that the brunette had managed to do the potion right, but surely it was thanks to Hermione. Potter stopped the stirring and put his cauldron off the fire, Malfoy would do the same in a couple of minutes, out of the corner of his eye he say Hermione approaching Blaise's cauldron, she leaned onto it and suddenly went green and ran out of the classroom, Blaise looked surprised at her retreat. Potter only got sure that his potion was safely put away to cool before going after his friend. Draco approached Zabini and looked into his cauldron, the potion was a fine shade of blood red, the smell was a bit strong but not unpleasant.

"What's gotten into her Malfoy?"

"Don't know, maybe she's ill or something."

"Shouldn't you go check on her?"

"Yes, but I can't do it now. I'll have to wait until she and Potter return."

"In the meanwhile you can take a look to her potion; I think it needs a last stirring."

Malfoy looked over at Hermione's cauldron and went to attend it; after all he couldn't let their project to be ruined because of one neglected potion. He gave it a few stirs counterclockwise before going to his own cauldron; it was time to put his potion away to cool.

When he returned to Hermione's potion Parvati was waiting for him. Malfoy continued his stirring without paying attention to the girl.

"You helped her Malfoy." Parvati accused in a low hush, Malfoy's face didn't change.

"Yes, I did Patil." Draco was no idiot, he knew that the entire school was aware of the fact that he had rescued the Gryffindor Head Girl, the only reason of why he hadn't been attacked yet was that everybody also knew what he had done to Marshall and Crabbe, and the junior Death Eaters of the school were all cowards.

"Why?" asked Parvati almost with despise. Malfoy smirked.

"Why? She just had walked out of the headmaster's office in my company and she immediately gets attacked. Do you realize how that made me look Patil? I don't want any bad publicity."

She huffed and crossed her arms, not entirely convinced.

"You are going to have it anyway. Weasley's sure that you are the master mind behind the attack, and he's trying to convince the Gryffindors of that, he's not having many problems."

"Well, he's an idiot, something like that was expected from him. And, since you mentioned it; can I know to whom I owe the little play with the weasel?" He now interrupted his work and turned to look at the girl, Parvati smiled evilly.

"I see" said Malfoy dispassionately.

"Aren't you glad that I managed to get you out of that 'task' Malfoy?" she asked sarcastically, Malfoy's face was the epitome of indifference.

"Next time you can try telling me first what Dumbledore has planned for me, and let me go and put the old cot on his place myself. I don't appreciate being gossip material Patil, and the weasel was one hell of a howler."

Parvati's smile widened and she turned to leave.

"Don't worry Malfoy. Next time I'll come directly to you."

Draco returned to Hermione's cauldron and continued working on the potion as if nothing had happened; Blaise was beside him in no time.

"What did she want?"

"She suspects something, and she's smarter than the Ravenclaws, Thorney would do well in taking advice from her."

"She's going to be a problem."

"Not yet, they're going to be careful now that Marshall and Crabbe had been discovered with their masks, but we have to keep an eye on her and the others as well."

Blaise nodded in understanding, and he left to finish his potion.

* * *

Hermione was warm and comfortable, lying in Malfoy's arms among the cushions. She had been nauseous all day, she could barely eat and the situation at Gryffindor House wasn't any help.

Ginny had cried when Harry made her understood that Hermione had been hurt because of the show Ron had performed in the Great Hall, she swore that it hadn't been her intention and that she had only wanted to help. Ron still refused to accept he had done anything wrong and Hermione had been avoiding him like the plague.

The majority of the Gryffindors believed that jealousy had been the reason of the attack, and had assumed that Shatkins had asked some of her friends to help her with it. No one knew the true nature of the curse that was cast to Hermione, and Neville didn't tell anyone but Harry about the masks.

What really surprised the Gryffindors was to know that Malfoy had helped their housemates, at first they hadn't known what to think about that, then Ron had said that surely the entire attack was a set up plotted by the Slytherins, so Malfoy could look like he was the hero, how else could it be explained the blonde's fast arrival to the scene? Many agreed with him and were convinced that Malfoy needed to be held at arms length, perhaps the Slytherins were needed in the battle against the dark side, but that didn't mean they were any good.

Hermione was tired of her housemates, she had attempted to isolate herself but Harry hadn't let her, the brunette was really worried about her safety and was blaming himself for being the indirect cause of her injury.

She felt sorry for Harry; he was torn between loyalty to his best friend and common sense. He had stopped defending Ron, but he didn't want to have to choose between the red-head and Hermione, and unfortunately Dumbledore's suggestion and Hermione's wish to keep Ron away from her were making that decition necessary. It was clear that they wouldn't be the inseparable trio anymore and that saddened Harry, but he admitted that Ron wasn't cooperating. Weasley was acting like a bastard and refusing to see reason, and Ginny wasn't helping either, she insisted that when Hermione and her brother get together all was going to be ok and pretty again, but Harry knew that it was not going to happen, Hermione didn't want anything to do with Ron and that was the end of it.

Malfoy moved a little to nip at her ear and Hermione sighed in contentment, one of his hands was under her blouse, making circles on her belly. Almost two months of pregnancy weren't enough for her to show, but the fact that she knew she was carrying a life inside her made Draco's gesture more tender. It had been a pain to left Gryffindor tower, she had been expecting she could head to the dungeons with Draco right after the end of the prefect's meeting, but she couldn't drive Harry away and she had to go all the way to her dormitory and then sneak out again. She missed Harry's invisibility cloak.

"How are you feeling pet?"

"Much better now, thanks. I only wish that we could stay like this a little longer. It's getting late."

"When school's over we will have all the time we want."

"I have been thinking about it. I can't take my mother out of here and I don't have any place to go, I had thought about asking Dumbledore for…"

"Shh, don't worry yourself pet. I will take care of it. I only need to know if you want to stay here in London."

Hermione thought about it, considering what Malfoy was proposing, she didn't want to left her friends, Harry was going to be in danger and he needed her support, but now she had to worry about her baby too.

"I'd like to stay, I want to help Harry, but I don't know what to do. Draco? What would our situation be when we graduate?"

Malfoy looked surprised at her and snickered, for a really smart girl she sometimes was so insecure.

"Why? We're going to be married of course!"

She was now the one who looked surprised and turned a little to look him in the eyes.

"You really want to marry me?"

"Of course I want. What were you expecting?"

"I… I don't know, we are very young and I thought that perhaps you would want to wait sometime."

"Please Hermione, we are in age to marry." He lifted an eyebrow to her and she scowled, he remembered then that muggles had some very weird thoughts about marriage. "Please don't tell me that you are going to clung to the muggle-way of thinking. You are a witch."

"It's not that! Well, perhaps it is. I grew up with the idea that eighteen is too young to be married, in fact I'm too young to have children but I just wanted it so much and…"

"Hey, calm down." Draco embraced her and she leaned into him, he kissed the top of her head tenderly. "It's not too soon, wizards come of age at seventeen, in fact eighteen is a proper age for a pu… ah, wizard to choose a partner."

"It's tradition right?"

"Well, yes. When a couple is made official they marry within the year. Why do you think you only see serious dating among the seventh years?"

"I have thought that everyone knew that Pansy Parkinson was your girlfriend."

"The same as everybody knew you were Weasley's girlfriend."

She grimaced and he smiled at her.

"Well, we're not official yet, do we?"

"What makes you say that?"

"No one knows besides Dumbledore."

"Severus knows."

Hermione turned to look at him with widened eyes, and he smirked at her.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, he doesn't seem to mind anyway."

"Oh my God!" she rolled her eyes dramatically and returned to cuddle. "So, we are considering that we are 'official'"

"Yes."

"Then we still have a year; don't you want to wait for the baby to be born?"

Malfoy went very still and sighed heavily, Hermione turned once again to see him.

"Draco?"

"We can't wait. We have to be married before the child is born."

"Why?" She looked at him with suspicious eyes. "It's again some tradition that we should follow? The idea of being married before having kids it's medieval too! Does the wizarding society know which century is this?"

He actually laughed at her reaction.

"I agree that it is medieval, but that's not the reason of why we can't wait, though it is a medieval one too."

Hermione only lifted her eyebrows in askance, Malfoy sighed again and continued.

"You see, pureblooded wizards had always been paranoid about purity, and not only concerning your parentage, but your family name also. In earlier times it wasn't accepted the possibility to have children outside marriage, whether it was before you got married or cheating on your partner, either way a bastard son or daughter was never acknowledged as part of the family, but you know wizards, some of them take the social etiquette to heart. The oldest families used to perform a rite with their children, to ensure that every child they had would be with their respective wives or husbands and no one else; they could lay around with the entire city if they wanted to do so, but if by some misfortune a child was conceived from that adventures it didn't make it through the birth. If the parents weren't married before the mother went into labor, the child was born dead."

She looked at him horrified and openmouthed.

"Are you telling me that your family still practices that… barbarity!"

"You remember who my father is, right?"

"And you weren't planning to tell me!"

"To tell you the truth, I was expecting that you would accept marriage right away and didn't ask questions. I thought that you could live ignoring it."

"I certainly could!" said Hermione, rubbing her belly absent mindedly; Draco put his hand over hers.

"Don't worry love. We are going to have a beautiful child and no one is going to hurt it."

They remained like that for a while until Hermione yawned tiredly.

"Do you want to go see your mother before going to sleep?"

"Yes, I didn't have time this day and I want to check on her."

"Let's go then."

Both youngsters walked the deserted halls of the castle, careful to be silent and not have any bad encounters. Hermione was lost on her thoughts, mentally comparing Draco with Ron. It was amusing to realize that Ron thought he was so different to Malfoy, when the reality was that they had much in common. They both were possessive and both reacted aggressively when they felt that someone was stepping into their territory.

They have some shared beliefs too, both of them had immediately assumed that she was going to marry them without question, the two were purebloods after all and wizarding society was too fond of traditions; a muggleborn would be always left outside because of his poor knowledge of wizarding tradition.

The difference between Draco and Ron was that the first was very cold towards people and tended to control his anger and direct it in a variety of ways, while Ron was more visceral and careless. Maybe it was the way they were raised; Ron grew up with a lot of brothers, always competing with them, he had a tendency to show off to attract attention; Draco on the other side was raised to be the one in control, and he also was taught that respect and power were things that you have to earn, among the things that his family expected of him was that he would be able to demonstrate that he deserved to be respected. Draco had a very specific idea of how the world should be and how society should function. It was no wonder that Draco hadn't wanted to submit to Voldemort, the boy was raised to be the leader not a follower, and surely the dark wizard, with all his considerable power, had not managed to make a single thing that deserved Draco's respect.

Hermione half smiled thinking about that, she didn't realize that they had arrived to their destiny and were inside the hall for the refugees from St. Mungo's, until Malfoy suddenly stopped and tightened his hold on her hand.

"Hermione, look."

The girl looked first at his surprised face and then curiously followed the direction of his eyes. A few meters in front of them was her mother's bed, the curtains were open, and they could see that Mrs. Granger was breathing laboriously and had her head turned to the side, her eyes were looking vaguely on their direction.

Hermione gave a surprised intake of breath and covered her mouth with her left hand. Her mother was awake.


	21. Harry's discovery

Disclaimer on first chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 21. ****Harry's discovery.**

"I can't believe you came in the middle of the night to see your mother Hermione! What if something happened to you?"

Harry was really stressed, they were outside Pomfrey's office in the Hospital Wing, where he just have been notified about the sudden awakening of Mrs. Granger, and discovered that Hermione had been with her mother after curfew. The girl sighed in resignation, knowing that Harry was just worried about her safety and was unlikely to stop any time soon.

"I wasn't alone Harry. I was with… well, you know. My friend"

That eased Harry somewhat but he was still preoccupied.

"You two should see each other on day time 'Mione. I would feel better if I knew who he is."

"Don't worry Harry. I swear you he is reliable, and he wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Harry was not entirely satisfied, but he had to stop complaining because Dumbledore exited the mediwitch's office and greeted them.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Miss Granger."

"Professor! How's mom?" asked the girl impatiently.

"Take it easy Miss Granger. She's awake and recovering energy, she suffered severe trauma and doesn't remember what happened, which is probably the best now."

"But she's gonna be alright, yes?"

"She's a strong woman, and we're going to do everything we can to help her, but I won't lie to you Hermione, she would never be the same, she wouldn't be able to heal completely, and would need medical assistance for the rest of her life."

Hermione suddenly wanted to cry. It wasn't that the news surprised her, she had been expecting something like that, but she just felt the need to cry. Some tears indeed escaped her eyes and Harry hugged her to show his support.

"It's alright 'Mione. Everything is going to be fine, you'll see."

"Yes, I know… thanks Harry. And thank you Headmaster."

"Don't mention it my girl. Oh, and if you want to skip the Quidditch group it would be all right." Said Dumbledore, with a mischievous twinkling in his eyes. Hermione felt suddenly ashamed.

"Oh, I don't know professor. Draco is going to have a fit because he still despises gardening, and is not allowed to drop it."

Harry scowled and averted his eyes from his friend. The headmaster only smiled.

"I'm sure that Mr. Malfoy is going to comprehend the situation quite well. I don't think it would be a problem."

"Mm, well, maybe."

"Good, now go to breakfast before all the good food is gone!"

Harry's scowl deepened and he looked from Hermione to the Headmaster, whishing that somebody explained to him why he felt so left out.

"Professor, can I talk with you later?"

"Of course my boy, in fact, I think that we have a session today?"

"Yes, after dinner."

"Well, I'll see you in my office then. You know the password."

"Yes sir."

The Headmaster dismissed them merrily and they walked out of the hospital wing and headed to the Great Hall. Harry still felt a bit put out.

"You called him Draco." He accused, Hermione looked confused at him.

"Sorry?"

"Back there, when Dumbledore asked if you wanted to skip Quidditch. You called Malfoy by his fist name."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice." Hermione blushed slightly and tried not to look at her friend.

"What's happening Hermione? Are you really Malfoy's friend now?"

"Harry, whatever friends I have, you know that I'll never stop being your friend too."

"So, you consider him a friend."

"Well, yes."

Harry looked forward and started to bit at his lower lip, Hermione was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Harry? Please Harry, you're not children anymore, he's not the same. And he's in as much danger as I am."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, looking to her again.

"Well, remember the scar he had on his wrist? The one that had you and Ron yelling at the top of your lungs that he was a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Someone did that to him precisely because he didn't accept the dark mark, they nearly killed him!"

Harry looked thoughtful, for some reason he didn't cope well with the idea of Malfoy being in danger. Hermione continued her talk.

"You know, if you two only forget your childish grudges and start to really understand each other, I'm sure that our side would benefit greatly. Don't you think so?"

Harry frowned at the thought of getting to know Malfoy, though he had to accept that the blond had been helpful lately, his attitude had not been so bad, but he was still the proud Slytherin prince and a pain in the ass when he wanted to, he still insulted Harry and his friends but somehow it wasn't with the same feeling as it used to be, well, except when it came down to Ron.

"Please Harry, just give it a try, you two have been working so well lately, it's only a little push."

"Look 'Mione I can't guarantee that Malfoy and I would suddenly become friends, in fact, I don't think that we could get along in a while. I accept that he's acting different but he's still a prat. Maybe he has changed sides, I'll give you that, but his ideas haven't changed much, for example, you can't tell me that he didn't think he's above everyone else anymore."

"Ok, he has his treats, just like everybody Harry; you can't honestly expect that the entire world follows the pattern that you consider right. That's what people like Voldemort wants!"

Harry sighed, it was very hard to try to see Malfoy in a new light, his mind continued pointing out all of the blonde's faults and refused to see the good points that Hermione had obviously noticed some time ago. He finally decided to try and keep himself neutral. If Malfoy really wanted to offer an alliance then Harry was going to accept it, after all, it would probably only last until the end of the war, Harry really doubted that Malfoy would want to continue any kind of association with them after that.

"Ron's gonna have kittens when he finds out."

Hermione made a sad face and sighed.

"We don't have to tell him right now. I don't want another show."

"Yeah, you're right. He has been acting too out of character; I'm wondering what's wrong with him."

Hermione only shrugged, she didn't want to think about Ron anymore, it still hurt so much, she felt betrayed and just wanted to ignore the problem.

The two friends arrived to the Great Hall at the same time as some of the Slytherins; Hermione however was too distracted to notice, but she felt Harry stiffen at her side and looked up to see what had caused her friend's unease. She was amused when she saw Draco walking over to them, accompanied by his usual cronies plus Artemisa holding his arm. Hermione smiled and looked over to Harry, who was biting his lip again in nervousness, while staring at the petite Slytherin girl. Malfoy stopped in front of the Gryffindors and smirked mischievously.

"Hello Potter, Granger."

"Hi Malfoy. How are you Nochland?"

"Fine, thank you." Artemisa smiled to Hermione and the Gryffindor girl elbowed Harry's side.

"Come on Harry, you're not too sleepy to greet them."

Harry blinked and blushed in embarrassment, Malfoy's smirk widened in amusement.

"Um, Hi Nochland. Malfoy." Harry added Malfoy's name as an afterthought, but the blond was having too much fun to care.

They entered together the Great Hall, which was not too crowded, as it was Saturday after all, and they could sit in relative solitude. Draco and Hermione sat together as they always did on weekends, Harry was about to take his usual seat at Hermione's other side, but the bushy-haired girl gestured him towards the seat besides Artemisa, Harry wanted to shook his head in a panicked no, but his friend gave him such a murderous look that he practically ran away from her fury and sat beside Nochland.

Malfoy laughed a little watching Harry suffer, and Hermione berated him quietly for making fun of Harry's shyness, however Malfoy's attention soon was diverted towards his lover and he noticed the empty plate in front of Hermione.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" he asked in a low voice, the girl looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not so hungry."

"Nonsense, you have to eat. The fact that I can't be worried about you in public doesn't mean that you are allowed to starve yourself, or to follow Potter into dangerous situations as you usually do. Now eat something."

Hermione glared at Draco, but she put some fruit into her plate and reached for a big glass of juice. Malfoy was not yet satisfied, but he figured that he could still be nagging her for a little more food when she finished the fruit.

Breakfast was being nice so far, Harry eventually managed to overcome his social fears and started feeling more comfortable around Artemisa. Just when the raven-haired boy was about to ask the Slytherin girl if she'd like to go to the ball with him, Ron appeared and startled Harry by slamming his fist on the table and hissing angrily into his ear. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Harry! What do you think you're doing!"

"Wha..! Ron! Don't do that!"

The boy turned to look into his friend's very angry eyes and suddenly felt the need to reach for his wand. Ron didn't give him time to recover.

"Why are you sitting here Harry? You're supposed to be with Hermione!"

The red-head raised his voice at the final sentence and the girl in question blushed furiously, Malfoy sighed and turned over to her.

"You know? You should have him on a leash."

Harry gave Ron an incredulous look and the red-head walked furiously to where Hermione was, the girl tried very hard to be invisible.

"Come on 'Mione! Let's go somewhere nicer."

Ron took the girl's arm and immediately she hissed, Malfoy tensed, ready to take out his wand.

"Don't touch me Ron! Leave me alone!" Hermione shook away Ron's hand and glared at him.

"'Mione come on, you have nearly finished your breakfast, you don't want to be with the ferret more time than you have to!"

"And who are you to tell me what I want?"

"What do you mean? I'm your boyfriend! I'm going to marry you!"

Both Harry and Draco knew that Ron had made a mistake; they actually flinched when Hermione stood and slapped Ron's face.

"How dare you! You were one of my best friends Ron! I don't want you anywhere near me now! We're not a couple! We're nothing! Do you understand that? Nothing at all!"

And she stormed out of the Great Hall, Malfoy groaned inwardly, looking at the half-empty plate of fruit, all the present students started the gossip immediately and Draco wanted to go too, but he turned around to see the point of a wand between his eyes.

"I know what you're doing Malfoy, you've fooled everyone else but not me, you want to take Hermione away from us and get your revenge on her, but that's not gonna happen, you hear me? As soon as you finish the projects you are going to stop this charade and leave her alone! You understand?"

Malfoy lifted an eyebrow at the boy, out of the corner of his eye he could see that Potter had stood up and looked like he wanted to die on the spot, the Slytherin smirked and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Or what weasel? You're going to tell her how evil I am? She's not going to believe you."

If possible Ron's face became even redder, Harry could see that his friend was about to hex Malfoy into next year and he tried to stop him, but Ron shoved him away.

"Ron, please! Let it go, you're going to have problems!"

"No Harry! He needs a good hex to stay away from us!"

"Go ahead Weasley, do your best! Let's see if I can make them sack you at last!"

Harry knew the Headmaster will, for the way Dumbledore had been acting he suspected that the man had some kind of plan concerning Malfoy and he just knew that the Slytherin had now the upper hand, and he didn't doubt for one second that the blond would let himself be hexed only to get rid of Ron. The red-head however didn't listen to Harry's pleas and was about to sign his death sentence when professor McGonagall's voice interrupted them.

"What is happening here? Mr. Weasley, what are you doing?"

Harry turned grateful eyes to his Head of House, Ron was not pleased.

"It's a personal matter professor."

"And you're going to set it with a wand? I don't think so Mr. Weasley."

"But he started it!"

Malfoy raised his hands to show his utter lack of wand, McGonagall raised his eyebrows.

"That would be twenty points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley, and I suggest you watch yourself closely, you're already in enough problems as it is."

Ron opened his mouth to argue, but Harry finally managed to get a hold of the red-head and dragged him away.

"Come on Ron! We need to talk!"

Once they were outside the Great Hall and walked a few meters towards Gryffindor tower, Harry turned angrily to his friend.

"What's the matter with you Ron? Lately you have been acting like a madman! Hermione is scared because of it and frankly you're starting to freak me out too! You had never been like this before, not even towards Malfoy!"

"Look Harry, don't presume to come and tell me how I should be acting! Malfoy has gone too far now. Hermione is the one acting strange and is all because of him!"

"I know that she has changed, but Ron it's not only because of Malfoy. She just doesn't want a relationship with you, you're like a brother to her, we both are."

"Bullshit! Maybe she looks you like a brother, but you know as well as I that she had always wanted to go out with me!"

"Well, yes, but now it's different…"

"Yes! Because that slimy ferret had done something to her!"

"No Ron! Because she had realized her true feelings about you!"

"She loves me Harry! She has no other feelings but those about me!"

"Ron…"

"And don't even try to tell me otherwise Harry! You should be helping me to get her back, instead of following this sick game of the headmaster, to get the bloody slytherins' sympathy! I got sick every time I see her near that prat!"

"She wants to get an advantage for our side. We need to work together if we want to win the war Ron."

"Please Harry, don't tell me that you're buying the headmaster's speech that we need to ally with the slytherins. We don't need them! You are the one who's gonna defeat You-Know-Who, you said it yourself!"

Harry sighed, suddenly regretting having confided the prophecy to his friends on their sixth year.

"Look Ron, even if I were to defeat Voldemort, there are still the Death Eaters to deal with…"

"Ha! They would be nothing without their leader, and once they're defeated their supporters are going to be too ashamed to show their faces for a while, and they'd lost all the political power they have now."

"Yes Ron, but for that to happen we will need to fight!"

"And since when we ask the Malfoys' help to fight our battles Harry? You're The Boy-Who-Lived; you don't need any kind of help! You are going to defeat You-Know-Who, and then we're going to make sure that the rest of the dark wizards would be recognized as the crap they are! We don't need anyone but you!"

Harry looked dumbfounded at his friend, not wanting to believe what he was hearing, he felt as if he was talking with a stranger.

"Ron, tell me, what exactly do you have against Malfoy?"

"What do you mean? Other than he is the biggest prat that has ever existed, and that he had been a fucking ass all these years?"

"Yeah, besides all that."

"He's a self-righteous git, that believes that just because his family is one of the most respected ones, all the world should crawl at his feet! He's a spoiled bastard who thinks that with his family's money and political status he can have all that he wants!"

"That's the way his family raised him to be…" Harry muttered, trying to keep his word to Hermione and see beyond what lied in front of him, Ron didn't hear him.

"I don't know how he managed to fool Hermione with his lies, but we are going to bring her back to her senses Harry, she would see reason soon enough. You know? Malfoy thinks he has everything in life, with all the money and prestige, but I tell you Harry, he could have all that I ever dream of, but when we'll defeat the dark side he would be left alone, and he's not the Boy-Who-Lived best friend; right mate?"

Harry nodded numbly, still wondering if someone had been using polyjuice potion to impersonate his friend. Ron smiled to him.

"Right. Now, let's go find Hermione, I want to set things right with her."

Harry looked for a moment to Ron's retreating figure with a hollow feeling inside him. So, that was how things really were, nearly seven years together and Harry was just realizing that, for Ron too, he was only The Boy-Who-Lived.

* * *

Draco was annoyed and in no mood to deal with the general idiocy of the world, so he was mostly ignoring the bunch of students that were flying up and down around him in the Quidditch field. Just one more month and he would be free from all this. He loved flying, and really enjoyed the feel of power that being in charge of the Quidditch group gave him, but that Saturday he was just feeling overwhelmed. He was worried about his godfather and Hermione, and frustrated because he couldn't do anything to remedy the situation.

Hermione was the one that worried him the most; she was constantly exposed to some of the junior Death Eaters, especially to Parvati, who was starting to suspect that something was going on between the Head boy and the Head girl. To top it all, Weasley was starting to be a serious problem; something would have to be done about him, because it was clear that Hermione's indifference would not be enough to stop the boy from bothering her.

Malfoy was wondering if he could get away with obliviate the Weasley nuisance, when a serious voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Malfoy. Can I talk with you?"

The blond groaned and turned over his broom to be face to face with Ginny Weasley, talking about nuisances.

"What do you want Weasley? I don't think you should be here."

Ginny scowled at him, but remained firm.

"I need to talk with you, about Hermione."

Draco's face remained neutral, but he inwardly started to sort out all the possible reasons of why the Weasley girl would want to talk to him about Hermione.

"What's with the book-worm?"

"What are your intentions Malfoy? She thinks that you can be a friend, and is having troubles with Ron because of that. My brother doesn't trust you, and neither do I, and Hermione refuses to listen to us!"

"And your point is?"

"I know you must be plotting something Malfoy, but I don't understand why you are so friendly with Hermione, maybe is some strategy of yours to have more options, and be safe if the dark side lost the war, you'd never even look at her otherwise, I don't really care what you do, I'm sure that Harry and Ron would keep her safe, but this game is damaging her relationship with my brother and that is not fair!"

"You're not making any sense Weasley. Besides, what do I care about whether or not your brother and the bossy girl have a nice fluffy relationship or not? Maybe I'm even doing her a favor by driving her away from said relationship, I don't know if you've noticed, but your brother seems rather unstable."

Ginny's face became red, Draco wondered if all the Weasleys were so easy to anger.

"How dare you Malfoy! Ron and Hermione are perfect for each other! Maybe he overreacts a little, but it's because he cares about her!"

"Sure Weasley, whatever you say."

"Look Malfoy, if you really are pretending to be Hermione's friend, just do the right thing once in your life and let them be happy together, ok? Tell her that Ron is only trying to protect her! Or remind her of the reasons we have to doubt of your intentions! Please, you know it is the right thing to do!"

"And what difference would it make if I tell her that, Weasley?"

"I don't know! For some strange reason she seems to listen to you!"

Malfoy thought it very funny that Ginny was convinced of the fact that he was the main reason of why Hermione had dumped Ron. To tell the truth, he was, but not for the reasons Ginny believed, the red-head was convinced that the entire problem consisted solely of a disagreement between Granger and the Weasley boy.

"You're so willing to come and talk on your brother's behalf Weasley; one would think that he should be capable of retaining a girl that supposedly wants to be with him, though I don't know what Granger saw in him."

Ginny's eyes hardened and she huffed.

"I'm not doing this for my brother Malfoy; I'm doing it for Hermione's sake."

Draco only raised an eyebrow at her statement; the girl felt the need to elaborate.

"Come on Malfoy! You like everybody else had seen Hermione and my brother as a couple since years ago. The only reason Krum invited her to the Yule ball on her fourth year was because he was a stranger, and didn't know how the school's relationships were made. You know how our society works; Hermione would never cease to be Ron's girl in everyone's minds. No other person would date her anymore."

Malfoy remained indifferent; it was well known amongst the purebloods that once a girl have a partner, even if it was unofficial, she would have many problems to find another one, but that applied only to the purebloods and some of them had stopped taking that seriously, it was stupid anyway.

"Maybe not the purebloods, but there are plenty of half-bloods and muggleborns that wouldn't mind; even if she were in an official relationship and then broke it out."

The blond was very surprised when Ginny actually laughed at his words, but tried not to show it.

"Oh, don't joke like that Malfoy! Do you honestly think that she would find another man that notices her?"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and hissed at the Gryffindor.

"I wasn't aware that the weasel was so an excellent specimen that the girl wouldn't find anyone else to replace him."

"I didn't mean that Malfoy! I accept that there are plenty of boys better looking and perhaps nicer than my brother. I'm just saying that none of them would consider Hermione seriously."

"Oh?" The slytherin was confused now, he had lost the red-head line of thought.

"Please, don't act as if you don't have a clue of what I'm talking about Malfoy! I'm Hermione's friend, but I'm not blind, and you see her everyday, she's not really attractive or good looking."

Malfoy felt his eyes widening and fought to expel the surprise from his face. Ginny didn't seem to notice it.

"She doesn't put much attention to herself, she never wears make up and her hair is frankly horrible, but she refuses to do something about it, her teeth are better now than they were, but she still have them a little weird, some of them are not entirely straight, and her eyes are so common and a bit small for her face, and the color of her skin really doesn't fit her, lately she is even gaining weight, given that her body is rather disproportionate. No one would find her attractive."

Malfoy was having a hard time keeping his face neutral, he wanted out of this conversation as soon as possible, unfortunately his mind had stopped in semi-shock and the Weasley girl had not finished.

"Besides, you said it yourself, she's a book worm, know-it-all and bossy girl, she barely knows a thing about socializing, and she has a hard time choosing clothes, her usual attire is so simple, and look at her cat, she couldn't find a better pet if her life depended on it, she just have bad taste. Who would want to have her around?"

Malfoy felt very offended, he was aware that his grasp on the broom was too tight and his knuckles hurt, but it was all he could do to prevent himself from take out his wand and transfigure the Weasley girl into something nasty. If all of Hermione's friends were like this he was surprised that the girl's self esteem wasn't lower than it was.

"Weasley, I didn't want to know what you think about your so called friend, or how you reflect your personal problems and insecurities on her. Just leave me the hell alone, would you? I don't really care if she solves her problems with your brother!"

Ginny glared at him, and hissed indignantly.

"You're a bastard Malfoy! Ron's right you only want to hurt her!"

_'Me?'_ Draco asked himself while he saw the Weasley figure flying away. This was incredible, whoever said that a Gryffindor friendship was the most thrust worthy that existed had no idea of what friendship was. He'll take a Slytherin friend any day over a Gryffindor, at least with the Slytherins you knew what you were getting into.

He was a bit shaken, someone had once told him that women could see every fault and criticize every aspect on another living being, but he never imagined that someone could criticize a person, that was called a friend, like that. Hermione definitely needed to get rid of the Weasleys, Malfoy set his mind in that, he would ensure that no one of those envious lower beings would be around his woman and his child anymore than strictly necessary. He'll not have any children of his exposed to such mediocrity.

* * *

Time went by and soon the last scheduled group of students arrived to the Quidditch field, Malfoy was supervising that all of them had a team and started arranging little matches when he spotted bushy hair walking over to the beginner's section of the field, he promptly left Blaise in charge and landed in front of the startled girl.

"What are you doing here Granger?"

"Um, Hi Malfoy, it's my turn to referee a game. I'm sorry I'm a little late."

"What are you talking about? You're not going to fly, much less be in the middle of a game. It's dangerous!"

Hermione frowned at him and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I'm not going to be playing, and I'm a better flyer now. I don't think that it would be too dangerous."

Malfoy stared at her and was about to retort when Potter arrived.

"'Mione, I thought that you would take Dumbledore's permission to be absent."

The girl looked at her friend and answered rather coldly.

"Really Harry, I don't see any reason to stop doing the things I always do just because a little inconvenience." She turned again to Malfoy who was starting to get angry. "I'm fine, there's only a month left of the groups, it's nothing wrong with flying why should I want to stop practicing it now?"

Malfoy was about to tell her exactly why pregnant women would want to keep their feet firmly on the ground, but he remembered in time that Potter didn't know about Hermione's pregnancy, and had to bit his lip.

"Fine! Go and kill yourself then if that's what you want!"

And he mounted his broom and flew away; the Gryffindor boy stared after the blond and then looked to his friend.

"What's the matter with him? He's back to being nasty?"

"No, he's only stubborn! Dumbledore told him that I'm sick and he doesn't believe that I can still fly. But I'm going to show him that there's no big deal! Men worry too much!"

She took her school broom and resumed her way to the beginners field, leaving a confused Harry behind, the boy had never took Malfoy for one to worry about someone else than himself. Someone had definitely changed the rules of his world again and had neglected to inform him. He was going to have a word or two with said someone as soon as he knew who it was.

Hermione arrived to her group and noticed that they were only waiting for her to start the game; she mounted the broom confidently and elevated. Really? Who said that pregnant women couldn't fly? It wasn't as if she would be chasing the bludgers, she would be careful, besides, what the rest of the students would think if she suddenly stopped going to Quidditch? There was nothing to worry about, there were plenty of women that continued doing their usual activities while pregnant, and there was no reason of why she couldn't do the same.

Hermione watched the game attentively, she had to do a few basic maneuvers to follow the players, soon the feeling of floating started to get at her and when she had to move quickly to evade a player she felt highly disoriented. The girl breathed sharply and tightened her grip on the broom to steady herself. The dizziness didn't go away. The game continued and Hermione started to feel slightly nauseous, she wondered if it would be ok to land for a few minutes and then to come back, she started to raise a hand to call a halt in the game when something hit the end of her broom and made her spin in the air, she lost all sense of direction and her grip on the broom failed, she screamed when she felt herself falling.

* * *

Draco was fuming. Stupid, stubborn Gryffindors! Surely she was thinking that she could go on with her life as if nothing was happening. Well he would have his say about that! Of course she had been doing all her activities without problem for nearly two months now, but that didn't mean it was safe to continue doing it. Malfoy didn't have complains about activities like dancing or tending the plants, but Quidditch was a demanding sport, even if it didn't look like it. You couldn't get distracted in Quidditch, you had to have good reflexes in order to dodge bludgers and players alike, and what if you fell from the broom? It was a sport where you could get hurt easily. Pregnant women should stay as far away from it as they could!

Malfoy stayed near the beginners group, sending irritated glances once in a while and waiting for Hermione to realize that it was better to call it a day and return to the castle. He really didn't understand that woman. She hated Quidditch! She should be jumping at the opportunity to drop it! But no! She had to go and finish the four weekends left! Malfoy would have a talk with Dumbledore if she persisted at it. In the meantime, Hermione was starting to look pale, Draco watched as she tried to steady herself after barely dodging one of the chasers. Good, it served her right, maybe now she would land and remain in the ground where pregnant women belonged.

Draco gave a brief look around the fields to make sure that all was in order and then returned to look at Granger, just in time to see an anonymous bludger collide with the tail of the girl's broom and make it spin like crazy, he raced towards her but he knew he wouldn't arrive in time, so he got out his wand when he saw her falling and quickly cast a levitating spell. Hermione stopped in midair just a few centimeters above the ground, Malfoy landed at her side and helped her to get to her knees, she threw up immediately.

"Well, you should be happy now Granger! You almost got yourself killed! Are you alright?"

Hermione breathed deeply twice and then got to her feet with Malfoy's support, other students were carefully gathering around them.

"You're going to the hospital wing Granger, you're still pale."

Hermione breathed again and was about to answer when Harry arrived hurriedly.

"'Mione! What happened? You look like crap! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine Harry, don't worry."

"Take her to the hospital wing Potter."

"No, it's not necessary, I'm fine, really."

That was the wrong thing to say, because Malfoy's patience ended at it and he shouted at her.

"I don't care how fine you say you are Granger! You're going with the bloody mediwitch now! You hear me!"

Hermione blinked, taken aback by Malfoy's anger, then she attempted to glare at him but her dizziness spoiled the effect. Harry touched her shoulder gingerly.

"Perhaps he's right 'Mione, you are very pale, we better go see Pomfrey."

The girl was going to tell Harry that he wasn't supposed to agree with Malfoy this time, but she turned around too fast and the world lost its focus, suddenly she felt weak and Malfoy had to support her before she collapsed face first on the ground, they ended up kneeling again.

"Merlin Granger! You're a mess! And don't you dare tell me that you're fine! You're not!"

"It's just the dizziness…"

Hermione breathed deeply once more and leaned on to Malfoy, who started to rub circles on her back, Harry knelt beside them and offered his hand to Hermione, while putting the other one on her shoulder.

"Come on 'Mione, let's go to the infirmary."

To his utter surprise Malfoy tightened his hold on the girl and pulled her against him, glaring at Harry with narrowed eyes, the Gryffindor boy retreated slightly in disbelief; he could swear that Malfoy was growling at him. Hermione put her hand on Malfoy's chest, trying to make him lose his hold on her, and muttered quietly.

"Draco, it's Harry, and we are in public, please, you can't be jealous here."

Now Malfoy did growl, he was about to deny being jealous of Potter when he felt Blaise's presence at his side, muttering to his ear.

"Draco, let her go with Potter. You have to take care of the group."

"She's not well Blaise."

"Yes, we all could see that. And the entire group can also see you two now. Patil in particular, seems really interested in what you're doing."

Malfoy gritted his teeth and collected himself, he'd have to let go of Hermione for now, he would be a Slytherin and remain cool, it won't do if Parvati discovered their relationship now, it was not the right time.

"Do you know who sent the bludger?" he asked Blaise, he needed someone to take out his frustration.

"Of course."

Malfoy recovered his neutral face and helped Hermione to her feet, then he immediately let go of his embrace and turned to Harry.

"Well Potter, what are you waiting for? Take your troublesome friend to the hospital wing right now and don't come back today. Go!"

Hermione took Harry's arm and nudged the momentarily confused boy into action, the boy gave one last suspicious look at Malfoy, wondering about the sudden change in the Slytherin's behavior, and then walked away with the girl. When they were out of sight, Malfoy turned around to face the rest of the students, already looking for the person whose life was about to become miserable.

"Who was it Blaise?"

"Joshua Sauntiers, I saw him when he aimed the hit."

A fourth year Gryffindor; why he wasn't surprised? Malfoy narrowed his eyes and focused the boy.

"Sauntiers! Come right here now!"

A brunette with dark blue eyes advanced, confident at first, but he didn't last two seconds without flinching under Malfoy's glare.

"So, having fun throwing bludgers at your housemates?"

"I… I didn't… It was an accident!"

"Really? Well, I won't have this kind of 'accidents' in this group!"

"You can't throw me out! Dumbledore said that the groups are free and only he can forbid a pupil to attend!"

"Who talked about expulsion? That would be fifty points from Gryffindor, and detention with Flinch every day until the end of term!"

The boy paled and widened his eyes at Malfoy; obviously he hadn't expected that kind of retribution.

"W-what? But… you can't do that!"

"Of course I can, I'm the Head Boy."

"But, but, why? It was an accident!"

"For endangering your fellow students lives! Quidditch is a dangerous game, you can't be distracted here kid, and I won't have any accidents caused by incompetent players! I can't prevent you Gryffindors from being stupid, but I can force you to at least try to be less clumsy than usual."

The boy flushed and bit his lip, Malfoy didn't waste more time with him, he looked at the rest of the students, noticing with satisfaction that none of them planned to go to the kid's rescue.

"All of you, we still have forty minutes left, you're free to continue your games. And don't let any snitch or bludger get lost!"

Everyone returned to their brooms and to their respective sides of the big field, many started to chase the bludgers that had gone too far away. Malfoy spotted Parvati muttering something to an almost crying Joshua and he went over to her, perhaps he could mislead her suspicions a little. The girl left her chat with her housemate as soon as she saw Malfoy approaching, the blond stopped right in front of her and put a pleased smirk on his face.

"Now I'll have to thank you Patil."

"Me? What for Malfoy?"

"Please, the boy wouldn't have done that stupidity by himself; obviously someone had suggested it to him."

Parvati looked seriously at Malfoy; she knew that it was no use denying it, so she only shrugged.

"Some people are a little put out that Granger is making friends with the enemy. And why do you thank me for that?"

"Well, first, I got to humiliate a Gryffindor and no one can tell me that I was wrong in doing it. Then, I'm now Granger's hero you know? Soon I'll have her on my pocket and through her I'll get to Potter and Dumbledore."

Parvati looked surprised at first, but she soon recovered and smiled mischievously.

"And what do you intent to do then Malfoy?"

"Now Patil, why would I tell my plans to you?"

Malfoy left the girl and returned to the sky, hopping that his little chat was enough to make Parvati stop her prodding.

* * *

That night Harry walked to the Headmaster's office, decided to clear some of his doubts about Malfoy. The professor greeted him more serious than usual.

"Come in Harry, come in, we have much work to do tonight."

"Something happened professor?"

"I have received some bad news, but I can't be sure about the seriousness of the situation until Severus arrives. We have to practice the protection spell that I taught you the previous week."

"Ok. Mmmh, headmaster, before we start, I was hopping that we could talk about Malfoy."

"Oh yes. I have noticed that you two had been getting along a bit more lately."

"Um, you could say that we have some kind of understanding, but he acts strange sometimes. Headmaster, are you sure he's in our side?"

"Ah, the same doubts you have about professor Snape I see."

"Well, it's hard to forget six years of nastiness. I just can't believe that someone can change his ideals so suddenly."

"Mr. Malfoy has matured Harry, but you're right, no one changes the way they think from one day to the other, Mr. Malfoy had not changed his ideals so much, he just has rearranged his priorities, and he had had a whole year to think things over and decide what he wanted, in fact, I remember that last year was a perfectly quiet one, there weren't much quarrels between you two."

"Yeah, he pretty much ignored us the entire year. But if he hadn't changed his ideas why are you so sure that he's with us? What if he still supports Voldemort?"

"I'm going to confess something to you Harry. Young Mr. Malfoy has not come to me yet. I can't tell for sure that he's in our side, but he's not supporting Voldemort anymore. Right now Harry, Draco Malfoy is keeping himself neutral."

Harry's eyes narrowed in annoyance at Dumbledore's words, that bit of news wasn't very comforting.

"But Hermione is convinced that Malfoy is a friend! Professor why did you let her believe that? She's convinced that he has changed! And you had encouraged her, only to win Malfoy to our side! She could get hurt! Why did you ask her to do it!"

"Harry, calm down. I assure you that Miss Granger is in no danger, she knows Mr. Malfoy's situation, perhaps better than me, and I didn't ask her to get close to him, not even to start being civil, I must confess that I had thought about asking you that particular favor, I had wanted you to be the one to approach young Malfoy, but Miss Granger started to get close to him spontaneously and, before I had the chance to talk with you, they seemed to already had reached some kind of understanding, so I let them continue without getting you mixed in, and with very good results if I must say."

The Headmaster recovered the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Harry however was not convinced.

"But, is she really safe? I know that Malfoy has been acting different towards her, and she treats him far better than she treats Ron lately, but how do we know that he won't return to Voldemort?"

"Well, given the situation he's in now, it would be very difficult for him to do it. You see Harry, he was supposed to take the mark on Halloween, but for unknown reasons he didn't make it to the reunion point, his father wasn't pleased and I understand that he sent an ultimatum for his son to take the mark on Christmas. However, young Mr. Malfoy preferred instead to spend the winter break here, so he didn't take the initiation. That, Harry, puts him in a difficult position, technically he had refused Voldemort twice, and you know that Riddle doesn't take refusals well."

"But, why did he do it? I thought that he agreed wholeheartedly with Voldemort's ideals, he said so many times!"

"He was a child when you met him Harry, he had been taught many of Voldemort's ideals as family traditions, the Malfoys had always been a rather purist family, but young Malfoy has grown up, and I think he has been realizing that not everything are quite correct in Voldemort's actions, maybe he sympathizes with some things, like the despise to muggles and muggleborns, but it seems that his pride is greater than that and he has decided to not follow Voldemort's lead after all."

"His pride? What do you mean?"

"You have to see the situation from Malfoy's point of view Harry. The Malfoys are a respected family, one of the most ancient ones, very powerful and in many ways an icon for the wizarding society, Draco has been raised to be a leader, his parents had always told him how great and powerful his family is, they had got him used to the fact that he could have whatever he wanted and that someday he would lead the pureblood's circle. Suddenly, Lucius decides that the entire family should bow at the feet of someone else, I don't think that his son had taken very well the news of that he was expected to be somebody's servant, especially taking in consideration that said somebody is not a pureblood."

"So, we're relying on Malfoy's high self-esteem to suppose he won't end up as a Death Eater? Great." Said Harry sarcastically, the Headmaster smiled at him.

"I accept that there is a risk, young Mr. Malfoy can still return to Voldemort, if he takes with him a good enough prize, but I think that he doesn't want to do it anymore. I think that Miss Granger has managed to show him what much more he could gain, by being a little more tolerant of certain circumstances."

Harry raised an eyebrow, somehow he didn't like Dumbledore's cheerful smile. A sudden doubt entered his mind.

"Professor, why do you want Malfoy in our side? I mean, I know that he's powerful, and that the Slytherins are necessary, they have been a really good help at the DA sessions, and the more supporters we have the better, but I think that you have been specially focused on Malfoy. It isn't enough that he is now neutral?"

"Well Harry, it's time for you to have a brief insight in wizarding politics. You see, it's a matter of public image, Draco is the heir of Malfoy family, if he decides to support us it would be a great blow to our opponent."

"How come?"

"Social believes Harry, you represent hope to the wizarding world, the hope that Voldemort can be defeated, the Malfoys represent power, if the two are on the same side, it won't matter anymore which one it is, it would win."

The headmaster started explaining how the wizarding society functioned. Harry listened intently with his annoyed frown in place, he decided right then and there that he didn't like politics and that he'll never could be a good politician. You were supposed to talk nicely and pretend to be good friends with people you disliked, only because it was convenient that said people supported you? That should be wrong, no matter what kind of advantages you were trying to obtain.

The talk managed to give him a better understanding of the impact that the end of term's ball could have if Malfoy and Hermione danced together, and with it he realized the real dimensions of the danger Hermione had been exposed to, thanks to Ron's mislead outburst. He remembered the bludger's incident and understood that it wasn't a mere accident. He decided that if Malfoy didn't manage to convince Hermione to drop Quidditch he would have to put his best effort in keeping her away from it.

When the headmaster finished his explanation, Harry was not happy with society in general, but he reluctantly agreed with Dumbledore in that he should try to be closer to Malfoy, the war was slowly reaching Hogwarts and they had to do whatever they can to get out of it victorious and preferably alive. No matter if that meant to get used to Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Hermione moaned loudly when Draco pushed his entire length inside her and started to thrust hard and fast, he was holding her hips to steady himself while he moved in and out of her body; she started moving too, meeting each one of his thrusts with equal force, making him go faster. One of his hands sneaked to her breast and pinched a nipple, Hermione moaned again and called Malfoy's name.

He had been pretty annoyed with her, and had ranted for about ten minutes about why Quidditch was unhealthy for her. She had tried to distract him and had started to tease and arouse him. Initially, Draco had been a bit reluctant; he remembered someone telling him that pregnant women were never on the mood to have sex, apparently that wasn't Hermione's case however, and Malfoy soon forgot his doubts and had immediately taken over control and focused only on their mutual pleasure.

Hermione moaned when she felt her orgasm building and her inner walls tightened around Draco's length, the boy gave two more hard thrusts and released inside his lover with a yell of satisfaction. They remained joined for a few seconds until Malfoy exited her and lied down, holding Hermione tightly against his body, starting to trail kisses along her neck.

"Stubborn woman. I should spank you for what you did today."

"Oh, please Malfoy, I already said I'm sorry, would you forget it?"

"No, I won't forget it, you almost got killed by a stupid child and gave me quite a scare! You're not seeing another broom ever again!"

Hermione looked at him openmouthed for a second and then smiled sweetly.

"So, the great Draco Malfoy was scared?"

Draco glared at her smiling face and hissed.

"Shut up woman!"

Hermione giggled while he busied himself again with her neck and pulled her closer to him. Soon the giggling transformed in moans of contentment and pleasure, Draco kissed her passionately until they needed to breathe, and then he trailed his hands over her back and one of them rested momentarily between their bodies over her belly, which was starting to get slightly more rounded.

"Beautiful. I can't believe that stupid cow said you were not sexy."

Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise at his comment.

"Who?"

Malfoy only shrugged and continued nipping at her ear.

"Never mind, it's not important."

He kissed her again and then they started to get up and ready to go.

"But, you know, you should pay more attention to your girl friends chatter once in a while."

Hermione looked a bit taken aback at him and Draco smirked. He didn't comment anymore on the matter.

* * *

Harry was walking along the halls, covered by his invisibility cloak, on his way to Gryffindor tower. It was really late, the session with the Headmaster had been pretty hard this time and Harry was tired. However, while he walked the deserted corridors, he was thinking about Malfoy's case. Harry thought that he could accept the blond better if he stopped being a prat, but he wasn't sure if Malfoy could change that much. One thing was sure, he was going to have a hell of a time trying to convince Ron to accept a truce with the Slytherin, he hoped that at least the rest of the Gryffindors would stop hearing Ron's tantrums and complains about the slimy snakes. Harry was slightly aware of the fact that the entire year Hermione had been implying that Malfoy was now more mature than he and Ron, and he pouted at the thought. It was not fair; the ferret should have remained as childish as him for the entire seven school years, so Harry could still hate him without problems. Stupid Malfoy. Stupid Voldemort and stupid war anyway, if it wasn't for that maniac he would have no need for politics this early in his life.

Harry sighed and turned around a corner, he was about to arrive to Gryffindor tower, he could see the portrait of the fat lady nearly at the end of the corridor, and he also saw one, no, two people beside it, fully enthralled on each other and paying no heed to the world. Harry looked at the couple intently; they obviously were engaged on a goodbye kiss. The Gryffindor prefect approached them cautiously, wondering who they could be, when the boy straightened a little and Harry froze; even at the dim light of the torches the platinum blond hair was unmistakable. There was only one boy in the entire castle who had that particular hair color. Harry felt his mouth go dry and started to move towards the pair again, this couldn't be right, why would Malfoy be outside Gryffindor tower with a girl? Surely he wouldn't even think of dating a Gryffindor. Maybe it was Parvati, she had told him once that her family used to visit the Malfoys when she was a toddler. Please, let it be Parvati.

Harry was trying with all his heart to ignore the doubt that was slowly forming in his mind, he was just a few steps away from the couple when Malfoy muttered something at the girl's ear that made her giggle and push him away, far enough for Harry to have a clear view of her face. He couldn't contain a surprised exclamation.

"Hermione!"

Malfoy immediately turned over, pulling Hermione behind him, and taking out his wand, aiming directly in front of him, his eyes narrowing in slight confusion. Harry nearly shouted at them then.

"Malfoy! What the hell are you doing here!"

The blond arched a suspicious eyebrow; Hermione cautiously poked her head from behind him.

"Potter?"

"Harry? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me! It's not that dark for you not to recognize me!" Harry was nearly hysterical and Hermione sighed in comprehension.

"Harry, you are wearing your invisibility cloak."

"What? Oh!"

The Gryffindor hurriedly discarded the cloak as Malfoy's face expression slowly mutated from annoyed to slightly amused and he lowered his wand a bit. Harry succeeded in folding his cloak on his arm and tried to get over his shock.

"Now what the hell were you doing?"

"It's called snogging Potter. Don't tell me that I'll have to tell Nochland that you need basic lessons."

"Why you…!" Harry was about to launch himself at Malfoy with his fists up, not paying attention to the Slytherin's wand, now aimed at his chest, but Hermione put herself between the two boys in time and stopped her friend.

"No! Harry please calm down! Draco, put the wand away!"

"Hermione how could you? With him! Why?"

"Harry, try to understand, please!"

"Understand! I can't believe this Hermione! How long have you two been… at this?"

Hermione blushed a little and Malfoy smirked while answering.

"Well Potter, you can say that we spent a lovely Christmas."

"Christmas! You are with him since Christmas!"

Harry was yelling now, suddenly all the pieces were slowly falling in place. So, this was what he had missed… and this was what Hermione had 'showed' Malfoy, according to the Headmaster…

"Tell me, does Dumbledore know about this?"

Hermione's blush deepened and Malfoy huffed in annoyance.

"That damned meddling man. I'm sure he's delighted that we ended up like this! After all, he did all he could for it to happen."

Harry bit his lip and his fists tightened. So, Malfoy was aware of the Headmaster's expectations, it kind of made sense, the Slytherin did have more idea of politics. Hermione however, frowned at Malfoy's comment.

"You're not fair with the Headmaster, he only wanted for us to be friends and an example for the rest of the school."

"Well, we are quite an example, are we not?"

"Please Draco! Professor Dumbledore has no reason to play match-making. He has nothing to gain or lose from our relationship."

Draco opened his mouth to give his point of view, but Harry beat him to it.

"He has." He said with gritted teeth. The angry tone surprised Hermione and she turned to her friend with a worried frown. Harry started to pace back and forth in front of the couple, muttering all kind of obscenities about politics, manipulative old headmasters, devious slytherins and insane dark lords. Hermione's worry increased.

"Harry? What's the matter?"

"I think that Potter here has just been introduced to the political side of the war. Don't worry about him love."

Harry froze upon hearing the word 'love' and glared at Malfoy, who put on an innocent face.

"What?"

"You are trying to shock me to death, right Malfoy?"

"Too bad it didn't work."

Harry turned away sharply and walked angrily towards the fat lady; he stopped before saying the password and looked backwards at Malfoy, with a suspicious look on his face.

"Do you have the map?"

Draco blinked, slightly confused by the odd question.

"What map?"

"Of course not Harry!" Hermione hissed in annoyance. The raven-haired boy scowled and shout the password to the fat lady, the portrait opened for him without daring to make any comments.

Hermione sighed when she saw her friend disappear.

"Well, it wasn't going to be a secret forever anyway."

Malfoy embraced her and kissed her head.

"Don't worry, if Potter causes you problems, I'll deal with him."

"It's just that… I don't want to lose another friend."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Unlike Weasley, Potter does have a minimum of intelligence inside his head."

"You're acknowledging Harry's intelligent?"

"I said only a minimum!"

Hermione smiled and kissed Draco good bye, then she entered the Gryffindor common room. Harry was waiting for her, leaning on a couch with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face.

"Harry?"

"Do you really prefer him over Ron?"

Hermione sighed and sat on the couch's arm.

"Yes. I know that Ron is your best friend Harry, and he has been a very special friend of mine too, but I don't want him as a partner, I decided that a long time ago, even before Malfoy. It just doesn't feel right; I realized that he'll always be just a friend."

"But, how did this happened? Did Dumbledore have something to do with it?"

"Of course not Harry! I just, well, I had been obsessed with Draco since sixth year. I thought he was really attractive and, well, he kind of found out and things just happened. It was intended to be a one time thing originally, but after that we carried on and somehow couldn't stop and now… I love him Harry, and I don't want him to leave, I need him. And I need you to understand this, please."

"Were you going to tell us?"

"Well, actually I was starting to think if it would be wise to tell you, and how to do it, but I really don't want Ron to know about it, I don't want another spectacle from him and I'm sure that this time Draco is not going to be so forgiving. I have thought that when we finished school I can disappear and never see Ron again. He has been a good friend all these years; I want to remember him just like that."

"Can I ask how Malfoy found out about you liking him? Neither of us had any clue and we practically live with you!"

"Well, you remember that professor Snape told us that he was supposed to take the initiation on Halloween?"

"Yes." Harry almost hissed, with a feeling of dread on his stomach.

"Well, I happened to discover him when he abandoned the castle and I followed him. I just couldn't let him do it Harry! And I found out later that he was going to let the Death Eaters kill him! I was determined to stop him and he… well… he wasn't very nice, but I stopped him, and he… found out." Hermione was definitely not telling anyone what really happened that night, least of all to Harry; her friend was agitated enough as it was.

The black haired boy was slowly going insane, well, now he knew why Malfoy didn't make it to his initiation on Halloween. It was unbelievable! He should have been paying more attention to Hermione!

"What were you thinking? You could get hurt or killed! And no one would have noticed 'till the next day!"

"I didn't really care at the moment Harry. I just wanted him to stay."

"Jesus!"

Harry got upright and turned to embrace his friend.

"'Mione, I-I don't want him to hurt you, I mean, He's MALFOY for god's sake! Couldn't you go lusting over someone else? Why him?"

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione wanted to laugh at her friend's reaction, but wisely kept a straight face. "You men are impossible. You honestly don't see how much he's changed? You're not children anymore Harry. Please, just left your grudges behind, he's really going to help us, you'll see."

Harry sighed in defeat and released his friend, looking directly into her eyes, in times like this he wished Dumbledore had taught him legilimency as well as occlumency.

"Are you sure of this Hermione?"

"Don't worry Harry. It's my choice and no one forced me into it."

"Fine. But if he does anything to hurt you, I'll kill him!"

"Thanks Harry!"

Hermione gave her friend a hug that Harry returned grudgingly. When they finally let go of each other, the girl started to climb upstairs to her room.

"I suppose that he's not going to try and blow up the Great Hall, when he's jealous of someone."

Hermione half turned to see him with a thoughtful look.

"Mmm. No, I think he would prefer to beat said someone at the Quidditch cup."

Harry opened his mouth in disbelief and Hermione smiled and winked to him, before disappearing upstairs. The boy breathed deeply and started his own ascent to his dormitory, thinking that someone definitely wanted to shock him to death.

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**Author's note:** sorry for the lateness, I forgot that I haven't post this chapter here, silly me. It sucks to have a job; I don't have enough time to write all I want! I'll try to hurry with the next chapter.


	22. War Council

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**Author's note:** I'm very sorry it took this long for me to update, I have a job now and therefore have less time to write, but I'm not going to abandon my fics, I'm going to finish them eventually, it only will take more time than expected. Thank you all that had reviewed so far, I hope you continue to enjoy my ramblings. This chapter is not beta'ed, so any comments on the grammar or spelling would be highly appreciated.

**&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Chapter 22.** **War council.**

The next day at breakfast, Hermione was in a good mood, she hadn't had morning sickness, and she had managed to avoid Ron by going to the hospital wing early to see her mother, now she was at the Great Hall table, between Malfoy and Neville, who had accompanied them to breakfast. Harry was on Malfoy's other side, where Hermione had insisted for him to be, doing his best to ignore the blond and talking with Nochland, trying to get to know the girl better. Ron was at Neville's other side, trying to make Hermione notice that he was annoyed and ignoring her.

The Head Girl was not paying any heed to the red-head, she had not allowed him to speak to her since the previous day and she wanted to keep it like that, besides, she was feeling good and was actually hungry, so the food she was putting on her plate was presently demanding all her attention. Malfoy was looking at her plate too, with disgust on his face.

"Granger. Are you sure you're gonna eat that? That must be unhealthy."

"Why? It's fruit and eggs and bacon, a perfectly normal breakfast Malfoy."

"I wouldn't call 'normal' to scrambled eggs mixed up with papaya and tofu, besides, the entire thing is covered with yoghurt and mayonnaise, and you even have some olives there!"

"Oh, they're really good, do you want some?"

"Are you crazy? I want to keep a healthy stomach, thank you."

Neville had also been glancing at Hermione's curious breakfast and made a sound of surprise when he realized that the girl really intended to eat her culinary creation.

"'Mione, why are you eating that? It doesn't look… well, you're going to be sick later if you eat that."

"Oh, don't worry Neville, it's pretty safe."

"But why are you eating it?"

"Mmm, well, Malfoy here made a dare and I'm going to win it."

Neville glared reproachfully at Malfoy for making stupid dares, and the blond looked at Hermione very offended.

"Hey! Don't blame me for your crazy ideas!"

Hermione giggled and started eating, both Draco and Neville turned a bit green.

Movement on the Head table distracted Malfoy from the spectacle, he looked over and was really surprised to see that his godfather was back, Dumbledore however didn't seem happy and Draco frowned, maybe something had happened.

His question was answered with the arrival of the owls, there were too many for a Sunday, a good number of them went directly to the headmaster and some went away in search for the students that weren't present. It was strange, everyone got at least one letter, some from the Ministry of Magic. Malfoy's scowl deepened, he had one Ministry letter and one from the Gringotts' Switzerland branch, along with the Daily Prophet. He started to hear many surprised gasps around him, this was not good, he searched the head table for his uncle, who had his impenetrable façade in place and didn't return his look, he sighed and looked at the paper's front page.

Upon seeing the picture it wasn't necessary to read the front line, Malfoy felt his mouth going dry, the panicked wails of the students followed soon. He tried to think coherently and analyze the situation, he needed to remain in control, block the sensation of Potter and Hermione stiffening at both sides of him, and not show any trace of insecurity. He started to read the article.

'**_Gringotts destroyed in seconds!_**

_Saturday afternoon was terrifying upon seeing the Dark Mark above the remains of Gringotts' building. The attack was in the late afternoon, when the bank was about to close. Though nobody saw anything unusual the entire day, witnesses reported that there was a thunderous sound and many people from the surrounding establishments could practically feel how the wards of the building cracked and crumbled! The next thing the witnesses knew, Gringotts was **melting** in front of their very eyes…!'_

Malfoy looked at the picture again, the dark mark hovering above the blackened carcass of what had been a big building, it was almost impossible to recognize Gringotts in that mass of melted stone. Draco continued reading, hearing in the background Dumbledore's exhortations to calm. There wasn't much more information on the newspaper, nobody was seen getting out of the building, so the goblins, along with the wizard employees and the clients that could have happened to be inside, were presumed dead.

The carcass of the building was still very hot and for some reason no one had been able to approach it. No one had any idea of how deep the damage had gone, for all the Aurors knew, the vaults could be destroyed. Malfoy blanched at the thought of it, if the vaults were destroyed so was whatever were inside of them; money, artifacts, important documents, family heirlooms, all gone; some of those things were unique. It would be impossible to repair the damage.

Draco groaned while the students around him were trying to remain calm and listen to Dumbledore's assurances of safety. Safety. As if that were possible. This was it, the real crisis had begun, even if the vaults were intact there was absolutely no way to get to them. The Ministry was in serious troubles now, all the funds and payment for Ministry employees, including Aurors, were on that building. Damn. Practically all the wizarding society of England had their savings there.

Draco gulped; Gringotts' destruction meant no money for anyone… except the richest families, the ones that had not only one but two or more vaults in other Gringotts' branches around Europe. Many of the purebloods also had personal vaults in their mansions or other properties. Malfoy opened the letter from the Swiss Gringotts and learned that for security reasons the bank was not going to make any transactions to England for anybody, if he wanted to access his vault he had to go personally to Switzerland.

And even more, besides the money, there was the fact that Gringotts' security was believed to be one of the most powerful in the magical world, and it was destroyed in a matter of seconds and no one had a bloody idea of how it was done! Now the Ministry was really screwed. And the light side too.

Draco opened the envelope that had the Ministry crest on it and found three letters, one announced that O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. were not to be applied that year, other informed that the spells named unforgivables were going to be punished with death upon the caster, and that floo network and owl mail were going to be subjected to the highest security measures. The last letter invited him to take part in an express Auror training.

Malfoy felt slightly sick, Hermione's hand on his knee distracted him somewhat and he took it in his in a comforting gesture, then he looked over to her and saw that her eyes were watery and she was biting her lower lip, he had to fight the impulse of embracing her and forced himself to pay attention to what the Headmaster was saying. Dumbledore fought hard to maintain some resemblance of calm in the Great Hall, and he ordered the prefects to lead their housemates to their respective common rooms to finish their breakfast, then the seventh and sixth year's prefects will reunite with him and the Heads of House for an important meeting.

The students started to stand up slowly after Dumbledore dismissed them, Draco sighed and stood too, ready to leave, however Potter stopped him before he had time to walk away.

"Malfoy. I have to ask you. What are you going to do now?"

Draco sighed and looked unhappily at where Hermione was trying to shoo the first years out of the Great Hall.

"I don't know Potter. Do you think I can have the chance to find a time turner and go back a few years, when life was easy and I was really happy with it?"

Harry lifted an eyebrow, not used yet to Malfoy's dry humor.

"I really don't think so Malfoy."

"Pity. Let's go Zabini." Said Draco to Blaise, who had approached while they were having their little chat.

Both Slytherins walked past Hermione in their way out, Draco briefly touched her shoulder and said a fast good bye to her. The rest of the Slytherins followed Malfoy outside of the Great Hall, and Harry reunited with his housemates to walk with them to their common room.

After everyone was in their respective Houses, the seventh and sixth years' prefects went to the meeting room. Harry and Hermione walked along with Ginny and Leo Darlic, the sixth year's prefects. Ron had wanted to go too, but Harry convinced him to stay in the common room and wait for them, since he wouldn't be allowed to enter the meeting anyway.

It was a miserable walk, Ginny was trying unsuccessfully to hold her tears and Hermione didn't know what to tell her. The oldest of the Weasley brothers, Bill, worked for Gringotts, he had been in London since his weeding the previous year, and Mrs. Weasley had written to Ginny and Ron, telling them that Bill had not returned home, neither did his wife Fleur, who also worked for Gringotts.

Hermione wanted to cry too, she loved the Weasley family dearly and had approached Ron again to try and console him. Harry was furious and ready to go hunting Voldemort himself. It was clear that the situation was critical, if Voldemort had succeeded in destroying Gringotts, what stopped him from attacking Hogwarts?

The meeting went by fairly quick, the Headmaster informed them that some parents would be arriving soon to retrieve their children, some of them would even stay at Hogwarts along with some Aurors that were going to help the reinforcement of the wards and to give special training to the fifth, sixth and seventh years, so they could be ready to defend themselves. At that point the sixth year Hufflepuff girl cracked and asked what use would that be if they were trapped inside a melting building, her housemates tried to console her, but she had voiced the fear of everyone and the Headmaster had to assure once again that nothing was going to happen to the castle, though no one seemed very convinced of it.

Hermione felt as if she had suddenly been transported to another reality and felt the need to go see her mother right away. Draco was very quiet, no doubt considering what could be the best course of action, the Gryffindor girl hoped that the blond wouldn't want to leave, she wouldn't bear to lose him now and was determined to stay at her friend's side, she needed to fight, besides, Harry would need all the help they could give him, it would be unfair to abandon him now. Hermione sighed, she wanted very much for Draco to stay at her side and with their child, and she was sure that the Slytherin would be a really good help to defeat Voldemort.

Dumbledore's voice took her out of her thoughts, the Headmaster was giving instructions for the rest of the term, and suddenly he turned to the Slytherin's Head of House.

"Severus, aside from the training that we are going to get from the Aurors, I'll like for you and your students to teach the rest of the school some of the Dark Magic."

Many gasps could be heard upon this, Malfoy scowled deeply and turned to see his godfather, who seemed impassible.

"What exactly about that?"

"As much as you can in theory, I want you to complement Professor Donovan's teaching of DADA, I also like for the students to learn some basic dark spells, maybe one or two of the most complicated ones, but not the unforgivables, something that could be useful on self-defense."

"As you wish."

"Fine. Well then, you're all dismissed."

Everybody left the meeting room feeling slightly shocked, Dumbledore had never before allowed the actual teaching of the Dark Arts in the school, it made them wonder about the seriousness of the situation. Harry tried to stay behind to talk with the Headmaster, but Dumbledore sent him to his common room, saying that there would be another meeting later and that he wanted Harry to be at his office with Hermione and the Weasleys at five. The Gryffindor boy gave up grudgingly but noticed that Malfoy had not left with the rest of the students, he wondered if the blond had made up his mind.

&&&&&&&&

Once they were alone, Malfoy looked up directly in to the Headmaster's eyes; the man returned the look seriously.

"Is there something else you wish to tell me Mr. Malfoy?"

"You are not going to win this, and you know it."

Dumbledore's face lit up with a smile before answering the youngster.

"Quite the contrary Mr. Malfoy. I can assure you that we are going to win."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, young man, the alternative is not worth living for."

Malfoy didn't move a muscle, he recognized the options, they will win or they were going to be dead, there was nothing else now for any of them. He thought about Hermione and the baby and wondered what it would feel like to be trapped inside a melting building, he scowled mentally at the image, he very much preferred a painless death.

"How could you stop Hogwarts from being destroyed like Gringotts was? You don't even know what happened!"

The Headmaster smiled widely and the glint in his eyes seemed to brighten.

"Actually Mr. Malfoy, we know what happened, and you have my word that we also know how to prevent it."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, he didn't trust Dumbledore, but he recognized him as an intelligent man, and he knew that as much as he wanted to just take Hermione and get the hell out of there, the girl wouldn't leave willingly, and even if she will and they managed to get out of England, if Hogwarts fell there won't be a future for them anyway. Draco sighed inwardly, there wasn't more options, it was all or nothing now, he cringed at what he was about to do but he had no choice, not if he wanted to keep Hermione safe and at his side.

&&&&&&&&

After McGonagall gave the security instructions to the rest of Gryffindor House and the respective speech about staying calm and trust in the safety that Hogwarts provided, she left and the students slowly started to go to their dormitories or other places where they could assimilate the striking news.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were in Harry's room, the one that used to be Ron's when he was prefect, trying to reassure themselves. The black haired Gryffindor was seated in the windowsill, looking into space, while the girls were in the bed and Ron paced restlessly through the room, cursing under his breath. Ginny was crying quietly in Hermione's arms, no one knew what to say, they were unwilling to acknowledge Bill's and Fleur's deaths, and were holding to the bare hope that somehow they may still be alive.

Suddenly Ron stopped his pacing and looked directly at his best friend.

"You have to do it soon Harry, you have to kill that bastard now, we can't continue loosing people like this! You have to stop him!"

"Ronald Weasley! That's not fair! You can't ask Harry that! It's not his responsibility!" said Hermione indignantly, Harry barely turned to look at them.

"No Hermione, he's right."

"Harry! It's not right! He can't ask you to go hunting Voldemort, that's not what you have to do!"

"Then what am I supposed to do Hermione? I am the one who's supposed to end this according to that blasted prophecy! I should go and confront the bastard once and for all!"

"Oh, and you suppose he's gonna be waiting for you all alone and would agree to an honorable duel and that the best man wins? What about his followers? Or do you think that the Death Eaters will let you get to their leader without problems? You don't even know where he is! You can't attempt to go find the bastard without help!"

"Hermione's right Harry." Said Ginny. "You need the Order's help to locate You-Know-Who and defeat him. The Death Eaters are not going to simply give up."

"Then we must ask Dumbledore to put more effort into it!" said Ron. "I'm sure that Snape knows where that bastard is hiding!"

"You know professor Snape's reports Ron. Voldemort keeps changing his hiding place after each meeting. And the Order had not been able to track him down, not even his Death Eaters know where to find him until they are practically in front of him!"

"Well we must do something! Things can't continue like this!"

Ron was visibly frustrated and angry and Hermione didn't feel any better, she knew that Bill's almost certain death was a heavy burden for them all and she was frustrated too for not being able to do something to help.

"Dumbledore wants us to go to the Order's meeting this afternoon." Said Harry glumly. "I'm going to tell him that we need to move now, we have waited long enough, Voldemort needs to be stopped!"

"Yeah mate! The sooner the better!"

Ginny sniffed and Hermione lent her a tissue to wipe her tears; the red-head girl was really upset and was willing to talk about anything to keep her mind away from her biggest brother.

"It's too bad that we can't follow Snape when he leaves to his meetings with You-Know-Who. If we had been smarter we could have tracked down some of the Slytherins that took the mark on Christmas."

"Yeah!" said Ron furiously "Christmas was the time to discover them all! Dumbledore knew what was happening and did nothing to stop it! Did he tell you anything at all Hermione?"

Both Hermione and Harry had turned slightly red at the mention of Christmas, but neither of the Weasleys noticed it, the bushy-haired girl tried to compose herself and coughed absentmindedly.

"Well, I really didn't see much of the Headmaster during Christmas; I really just kept to myself almost the entire time."

"Damn! How could we be so stupid?"

"Let it go Ron, we can't do anything about it now." Said Harry, turning away to look through the window.

"I know, I know!"

"It's a shame to ignore what happened then," continued Ginny, Hermione wished her to shut up without luck "after all, it was after Christmas that Malfoy started to change his attitude and get closer, did you notice it? Am I right Hermione?"

The Head Girl's blush deepened and Harry tried very hard to seem like he was very interested in the trees that could be seen outside his window, however he still heard Ron's voice.

"That sneaky git! I don't care what you think of him Hermione! I'm still sure that he's a bloody spy!"

Hermione sighed and tried to not snap in anger at Ron's words, she wanted to show support to the Weasley siblings, not to get into an argument.

"Listen Ron, I don't want to talk about that anymore, it's useless."

"But 'Mione," said Ginny, wanting to set things right between his brother and Hermione, "just listen to him, we all are pretty worried about this. Malfoy is driving you away from us and it's not fair! I know that you think he has changed but no one changes so drastically from one day to the other! Harry, tell her!"

Harry pretended to not be paying attention and stubbornly continued looking through the window; Ron answered in his place.

"That's right 'Mione, he's not worth your trouble, he's going to hurt you badly if you keep trying to be nice with him! Really I don't know what the Headmaster has in his head, but making you spent time with the blond bastard is the worst thing he had ever concocted!"

Hermione was on the verge of tears, her voice dropped dangerously when she answered, even Harry turned to look at her.

"The Headmaster wanted for us to forget our differences and work like a team, so the school could be united and the students could feel safe."

"Like I said, I don't know what he has in his head! Malfoy can't be a team with anyone! Let alone forget certain differences!"

Ginny's and Harry's mouths dropped open, Hermione was shaking with anger now, she glared at Ron and stood upright.

"How dare you!"

"It's the truth Hermione and you know it! Or do you think he sees you as an equal? That's not going to happen! If he has changed so much why he kept calling you a mudblood in front of everyone? You tell me!"

"Ron stop!" Harry moved from the windowsill to stand at his friend's side, and grab his arm. "Listen Ron, the Headmaster thinks that Hermione's friendship can bring Malfoy to our side, and that it would be good if she succeeds at it, we would have more support from the Slytherin's part and you know that it had been useful this far."

Ron looked at Harry wide eyed, he couldn't believe his ears.

"What? You can't be serious Harry! What do we want that slimy git for?"

"You are a pureblood too, you tell me!" said Harry in desperation; Hermione was looking intently at him too. "Ron, Malfoy has his own power and you know it, the Headmaster wants him with us, and truly even if Malfoy wasn't required, wouldn't it be nice if we could prevent Voldemort from having more supporters?"

"I can't believe it! Are you suggesting that we allow the bastard to go and snatch Hermione away to hurt her?"

"I didn't say that! Of course we won't allow that to happen! I'll never allow him to hurt her, and I'm going to make sure that he knows it! But Ron, it may make a difference if we try to just get used to him, to be civil, it won't hurt us."

"Oh yeah? And what other wishes do you have Harry?"

"Please Ron…"

"No! I can't believe you have fallen for it too! We can't allow the git to get any closer than he already is! He's as much of a Death Eater as his father, and he's never going to be anything else!"

Hermione spoke then in a cold voice.

"Well, for a Death Eater he has been a lot nicer than you this past months, perhaps it's us the ones that should change sides then."

Harry looked at her with pleading eyes, but she ignored him and walked to the door, getting outside the room, Ginny sighed unhappily and followed her friend, stopping only briefly at the door to look at her brother.

"Maybe we are doing something wrong, we shouldn't be fighting like this now, maybe we should let her do whatever she thinks its best."

She exited the room and Harry sighed tiredly, Ron started pacing again.

"I can't believe this! Have you all gone insane? I wish we had the Marauder's map to spy on Malfoy all day, I'm sure that sooner or later he will contact someone from outside and then you would listen to me!" and he stomped out of the room without looking back.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if we discover him doing something nasty?" said Harry dispassionately, the mental image that formed in his brain was of Malfoy and Hermione snogging and he blushed fiercely. He wished then that Hermione decided to tell Ron the truth, maybe that way the red-head would stop speaking to her and they all would have some peace; but then again, telling Ron most probably would make things worse, surely he would go and try to murder Malfoy. Harry sighed and thought that there really wasn't anything that could make things better now.

&&&&&&&

Ron climbed down the stairs feeling betrayed, he couldn't believe that Harry was on Hermione's side in this Malfoy mess, Harry should be at his side on everything, Hermione would never realize her mistake if Harry supported her decition! Ron was pretty upset, she should know that he despised Malfoy and would not tolerate the prat, besides, she was his woman, whether she liked it or not, there won't be any other wizard who wanted her; everyone knew that Hermione Granger belonged to him! He should make sure that the girl understood that they were fated to be together and that he wouldn't tolerate her somewhat extravagant ideas of sympathize with an enemy of the family.

Ron walked into the common room in time to see Hermione exiting it and he followed her with a frown, she shouldn't be going outside the tower alone, why was she doing so stupid things lately was beyond him.

The corridors and halls of the castle were deserted, it seemed like no one was on the mood to wander around. After some turns Ron was sure that Hermione was heading to the hospital wing and he remembered that her mother was in there. The boy didn't want to enter the ward for the 'special patients', he knew that he will be seeing Bill in each bed, so he followed the Gryffindor girl to the infirmary and settled outside to wait for her.

Hermione spent nearly an hour with her mother, checking if everything was alright and telling her about the school and how she shouldn't worry because she was safe now, her mother wouldn't answer, she would only stare at her with quiet eyes, but Hermione knew that it would be like that at times. Mrs. Granger had spoken very little since she had awakened, but she recognized her daughter and the magical treatment had been pretty helpful, she would be more talkative soon and Hermione feared the questions that were sure to come.

After a long while, the girl left her mother's side grudgingly and walked through the deserted hospital wing, thinking about Malfoy and wondering if she should go looking for him, she wanted to talk and ask him what his plans were; there was nothing else to occupy her mind, since the dance group had been cancelled for the day. She remembered then that Harry had left her a note in the morning, saying that they had to meet in the potion's lab, they were going to store the last potions for the class' project, it was important that they finished that one project because she had the feeling that those potions would be needed really soon.

Hermione sighed and hoped that Draco would make an appearance in the potions' lab to help them, she hurried to the infirmary's door, intent on going to the dungeons as soon as possible, however she froze on the spot when she exited and discovered a waiting Ron on the corridor. The red-head looked to her and sighed impatiently, reaching over to grab her hand.

"Finally! You surely took your time 'Mione. I was getting bored here!"

Ron attempted to drag her along the corridor, but she shook her hand away and retreated a few steps.

"Ron? What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for you! You shouldn't be wandering the castle alone, now let's go to the tower, we still have some time before lunch."

Hermione retreated even more, looking at the red-head with pained eyes.

"Go away Ron, I have other things to do."

"What are you talking about? If you have homework you can do it in the tower, come on 'Mione!"

"No Ron! I didn't ask you to come with me, I don't want to go with you, I want to be alone!"

"You're not going to be wandering the castle alone! I'm going with you, as your future husband I have to protect you."

The girl gritted her teeth in frustration and glared to the boy.

"You're not my future husband Ron! Why can't you understand it?"

"That's nonsense 'Mione, and you know it, we love each other!"

"No Ron! I don't love you! I only wanted for us to be friends!"

"You're only confused 'Mione! You want to be with me! You would never even look to another boy and everyone knows that! There's no one else you could want!"

"You… you're talking like an egotistical prat! And it's not true Weasley! I love someone else!"

"What? Don't say stupid things, that's not true!"

"You heard me! I'm in love with another boy! So leave me the hell alone!"

Hermione turned on her heels and started running down the corridor, Ron looked astonished for a moment before starting after her, suddenly she turned around and cast a stupefying spell on him, it hit home and Ron fell down to the floor while Hermione resumed her run to the dungeons.

&&&&&&&

Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower just because she had to meet the others to go with the Order, she had been pretty upset all day and had not eaten a thing since breakfast. Harry had asked what happened when they met in the potions classroom but she hadn't wanted to tell him, and he had assumed her sadness was due to Malfoy's absence. That was another thing that worried Hermione, she had meant to ask Zabini, who helped with the storage, about Draco's whereabouts, but the boy was as clueless as she; it seemed that no one had seen the blond since the prefect meeting.

The Gryffindor girl had thought about going to their room in the dungeons, but it was too risky to do it, someone could follow her. So once they finished with the potions, Harry had walked Hermione to the infirmary again before going outside for a walk, and the girl had stayed at her mother's side until it was time for the meeting.

Hermione walked slowly to the tower, she was not thrilled to have to see Ron again, but she supposed it couldn't be helped, after all the boy's parents were part of the Order and he was Harry's best friend. The girl sighed, feeling awful about their broken friendship and continued walking; she turned around the corner and was greeted by a sight that shocked her.

Harry was shoving Ron into the nearest wall, and screaming to him with every ounce of anger he had. Ginny was looking at them in desperation, evidently not knowing what to do to stop them, Hermione ran to join her, intending to ask what was happening when she listened to Harry's words.

"Listen you twit! I have never touched Hermione in that way! She's my friend and there would never be anything else between us!"

"And you think I'm going to believe it a second time? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, you're doing a fine job convincing me of it!"

"You bastard!"

Ron managed to shove Harry away and immediately started throwing blows at him, the black haired boy had no choice but to answer and soon both of them were rolling on the floor. Hermione was shocked into silence for a moment and then turned to the Weasley girl.

"Ginny, what's happening?"

"Oh, um… well, you see, Ron says that you told him that you love someone else and… well he just assumed it must be Harry since there really is no one else…"

"What! Stupid, stupid moron!"

Hermione had her wand out in an instant, and before Ginny could react she had cast a body-bind curse on the two boys, effectively stopping the fight.

"Now listen to me Weasley! What in the world makes you think that Harry is the one and only boy in all the damned school that could appeal me? Have you no brains at all? Or you just happen to ignore that there are at least another twenty or so boys in the castle that could qualify? You're an imbecile that's what you are! And I don't want you to speak to me again, ever! Do you hear me? I'm not talking to you ever again!"

She gave him a hard kick in the leg to emphasize her words and then lifted the curse that affected Harry, Ginny lasted a little while to recover from the shock.

"Herm, I… oh, please, he's just jealous because he really loves you."

"Oh yes Ginny! He has been showing how much he 'loves' me for weeks now! Please! If that is the way he really is I'm very glad to have him far away from me! I'm sorry Harry, I know he's still your friend, and I'm sorry that you got caught in the middle of this mess."

"It's all right 'Mione. Don't worry."

"I think that I better wait for you at the Headmaster's office, I don't want to listen to 'him' anymore, see you there."

Hermione hurriedly wiped away a few tears that had escaped her eyes before starting the walk to Dumbledore's office, Harry stood up and shouted after her.

"I'll go with you! Ginny, could you please take care of Ron?"

"Yes, no problem."

"Hey Hermione! Wait!"

Harry took a run after the upset girl, leaving Ginny to deal with her obnoxious brother. The red-headed girl watched her two friends go and finally gave a deep sigh and attended Ron. As soon as the Weasley boy was free of the hex he started shouting his brains out.

"That bitch! How dare she!"

"Ron! Please stop it!"

"How could you defend her Ginny? You know that she's supposed to be with me?"

"Yes! And she's never going to realize that if you keep being a prat Ronald!"

"What?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Would you stop being a bastard for just one moment and actually think? I know that she can't possibly be in love with someone else, she told you that because she's tired of your attitude and she wants you to leave her alone for a while! She had had a lot of stress this year Ronald and frankly you are not helping in the least!"

"What do you want me to do if she's doing stupid things all the time?"

"You could at least try to control your temper and speak things over instead of yelling at the top of your lungs how idiot you think she is! Honestly Ronald! How many girls do you think would like their boyfriends throwing out their flaws to their faces?"

Ron crossed his arms in annoyance, his anger receding a little.

"Ok then, what should I do now? She's probably going to pretend she has a platonic love or something like that! Maybe Harry is even going to help her, since he also thinks that I'm the one at fault here!"

Ginny sighed in resignation at her brother's stubbornness, things shouldn't be this complicated.

"Look Ron, just let her be for a while, sooner or later she's going to realize that she belongs with you and she'll come back."

"What if she really thinks that she's in love with someone else?"

"Well, I suppose she can have a crush or something, but really Ron, is not as if someone would actually return her feelings!"

Ron didn't seem too convinced, but he relented and both Weasleys walked hurriedly to Dumbledore's office.

&&&&&&&

The meeting room in Grimauld place was literally crowded, Hermione had never seen so many wizards in the meetings, now it seemed like the entire Order was attending, there even were some secretive persons that remained hooded and didn't greet anyone but Dumbledore. Hermione didn't want to be there anymore, she was angry and also pretty sad, besides, the atmosphere of the house was depressing, you could almost see the nervousness radiating from everyone present.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were not the only ones that seemed near tears, Hermione had greeted them without really knowing what to say. What can you tell a mother to console her for the loss of a child? Hermione had felt very awkward and ended saying some useless words and then took a seat between Harry and Dumbledore, looking devastated and wishing the meeting to be over soon, Harry threw her a preoccupied glance before glaring directly at the Headmaster.

The Order members were worried, the real burden of the war was starting to be too heavy for some of them, and they still have to face an actual confrontation with the Death Eaters and their allies. Hermione wondered if there would be such confrontation at all, or if Voldemort would decide that long distance attacks were far more effective and safer. Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking on those lines, because the first questions to Dumbledore were how the Order were supposed to defeat an enemy that wouldn't fight face to face and that couldn't be located until too late. Others seemed to be primarily concerned about the panic that had been escalating among the population.

Molly Weasley was more preoccupied about other things.

"How are going to protect the children Albus? How are we going to know that they are in a safe place?"

"Molly, Hogwarts is safe…"

"How do you know that Arthur? Gringotts was safe too! So safe that now is nothing but a carcass of molten stone! I lost a child in there! I'm not losing another two on another 'safe' place!"

Everyone looked expectantly at Dumbledore, Hermione felt tears threatening to spill out from her eyes and her hands closed over her belly protectively. She looked at the professor too and the serene eyes calmed her a little; the Headmaster of Hogwarts was a smart man and surely he won't let the wizarding world fell without a fight.

"Molly, I'm sorry that you had to suffer such a horrible trance. But do tell me, your magical clock tells that Bill is indeed dead?"

"The clock doesn't show anything Albus! Bill's name had disappeared from it!"

"Ah, I see. Perhaps the clock doesn't know what had become of him, but don't worry anymore Molly. I can tell you that he's fine, and very much alive."

Hermione felt release and shock at the same time inside her and coming from everyone in the room, at her side Harry was gaping in incredulity, he snapped back to reality when Dumbledore continued speaking.

"I'm afraid that we had to let you think otherwise for a while, it's necessary that Voldemort is convinced that his recent attack had been entirely successful."

"And it wasn't?" asked Remus Lupin from a corner, looking as surprised as Hermione felt.

"I'm pleased to say that the wards that Professor Snape, Alastor Moody and I designed resisted the attack quite well. There is in fact a room under all the melted stone that remains intact and where the goblins and wizards that were in the bank presently inhabit, a little crowded but alive, I can tell you also that the vaults are untouched. We will be able to get the people out of Gringotts in a day or two, of course we are going to do it discretely, no one can know a thing about this."

Everyone started asking questions and demanding details of how the wards had been done, Dumbledore gave scarce information on the matter, and he was adamant that they should show a worried and even fearful façade to the public eye.

"But, we're only going to encourage You-Know-Who to attack again!" said a man that Hermione recognized as a young Auror, Dumbledore just smiled at him.

"Precisely, and we have to make sure that his next target would be Hogwarts."

Hermione felt panic rising inside her and wondered for a moment whether the Headmaster had gone crazy, Harry stiffened at her side and nearly shouted in her ear.

"What! But professor that's insane!"

"Albus, you can't be serious!"

Mrs. Weasley had palled visibly and her husband embraced her, looking at the Headmaster in puzzlement, the old man maintained a serene face and proceeded to explain his plan. Apparently Hogwarts' wards were ready to resist whatever magic Voldemort decided to cast upon them, Gringotts' attack had demonstrated that the wards were adequate and the Headmaster had set up a trap for when Voldemort appeared in the castle's vicinity.

"How do you know that You-Know-Who is going to make an appearance this time? He hadn't done it in any of the other attacks." Asked Shacklebolt, the Headmaster smiled knowingly at him.

"Ah, but Hogwarts is a symbol to him, and he knows that if he manages to destroy it he will as well win the war, my guess is that he would like to see the castle's carcass in person."

"What if he decides to attack some other place before?"

"That's why we must try our best to be the most attractive target, I have invited the Minister of Magic to a conference the next week, and I'm going to suggest him to set provisional headquarters in the school. Also, I'm going to allow some of our student's parents to take refuge in the castle, of course the ones that prefer to take their progeny home would be free to do so, but I think that the half-bloods and many of the muggle-borne would be more reassured at the prospect of being near their children and let them finish the school term. Maybe even some of the purebloods would be willing to show their support and confidence in us by staying too."

"Of course we are going to be right there Albus!" said Mrs. Weasley passionately

"But do you think the Minister will accept? Deius is a proud man, he doesn't like pity." asked someone that Hermione didn't recognize, Moody huffed in despise at the question.

"He really doesn't have anywhere else to go. People is afraid, no one wants to have Ministry Offices in the vicinity, they are too a likely target."

"That's why we are going to convince him to secretly move to Hogwarts," the Headmaster continued, "of course a good placed spy would surely alert Voldemort about the Minister new whereabouts."

Everyone turned to look at Snape then, the man was leaning casually in a wall near some hooded men, looking slightly bored, the rest of the Order members weren't entirely satisfied.

"But Deius is a pureblood, he has been neutral until now, but I can say that he's seriously considering if it is really a good idea to oppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, given that the most prominent families are supporting him openly." That was not an Auror, but a Ministry employee, Hermione wondered how many spies Dumbledore had.

"Ah, yes. It is most unfortunate that many of Voldemort's supporters are from the most powerful families indeed, but I expect that at least some of them would let their children at Hogwarts, that would surely show Deius that he's not the only one willing to trust us."

Surprisingly, Hermione saw that many of the presents seemed ratter embarrassed, she frowned in question at Harry, but the boy only pressed his lips tightly, finally one of the hooded figures spoke, Hermione could say it was a woman by the voice.

"Well, that is if he would consider them reliable, no offence to anyone, but we need someone of the most ancient families to support us openly for the rest of them to start considering their options. As the situation is now it would be a miracle if the Slytherins remain in Hogwarts, and as soon as they're gone we will be seeing again at how the purebloods slowly make their way to You-Know-Who's side, maybe this time there won't be anyone willing to remain neutral."

Someone huffed in disgust, Hermione supposed it was Ron being a child as usual; Dumbledore ignored the rude sound in favor of answering rather cheerfully to his people's fears.

"Oh, I know that no one wants to see history repeats itself, but I'm confident that this time things are going to be different."

Hermione automatically thought about Harry and she frowned to herself, she believed that everybody was expecting far too much of her friend, and not only those that knew about the prophecy, Harry was only a boy, they all were too young, the only reason of why they were allowed to attend Order meetings was because the situation was serious and Dumbledore, surprisingly, had decided that they needed to know more about it. Still, they expected her friend to become a murderer, and that simply wasn't fair. She was surprised when someone talked in an annoyed tone.

"Why? Because of the Potter boy? Ha! Actually, the fact that he had survived an attack before doesn't guarantee that he can do it again, besides, even if he really can fight You-Know-Who I suspect that his loyalty to you, Dumbledore, will not be enough to the purebloods. We really need the Slytherins to remain in Hogwarts! At least a few of them! If they do it, the purebloods with children in the rest of the Houses would certainly be more at ease."

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Ron opening his mouth to complain, but Mr. Weasley shut him up before he could do more than that. Also, the girl noticed that everyone seemed to agree with what the man had said, even Lupin and Tonks were nodding thoughtfully. Hermione sighed, she knew of course how wizarding society functioned, she had read about traditions and history. If the Slytherins, that were known as the most cunning wizards, that often recognized the winner side in every conflict, decided to trust in Hogwarts safety, it would mean a lot to many people, and it certainly would make Voldemort want to crush the castle as soon as possible.

"Do not worry my friends; Slytherin House would not loose any more students than it already has."

"Why are you so sure?" asked Tonks.

"Oh, they are still wavering, most of them are from families that remained neutral the first war, they only need the correct leading and we're going to provide it."

Many eyes became incredulous, Dumbledore stood up and gestured with his hand towards Snape, Hermione narrowed her eyes, thinking about the professor's spying duties, but before she could think anything else the Headmaster announced:

"May I introduce you a new member, a young one, but he would be very helpful indeed. Come here my boy."

A hooded figure at Snape's side visibly flinched, but advanced none the less to the Headmaster, a general gasp of surprise was heard when the hood of the cloak fell to reveal a slightly uncomfortable Draco Malfoy.

Hermione blinked and then felt a smile cracking her lips, she nearly shouted in joy, but several whispers reminded her of where she was. She looked around to see the shocked faces of the Order members and felt a little apprehensive, Draco really wasn't everyone's favorite person; sure enough, after a few moments the first complains could be heard.

"Are you sure of this Dumbledore?"

"This is really serious! How can you know he's not going to betray us?"

"Well, we already have Severus Snape in here."

"Snape's case is different! The boy's a Malfoy!"

"Easy everyone! I trust him, and I can guarantee that he's going to be loyal to us, you have my word for it!"

"Mph, if you say so Dumbledore…"

Alastor Moody wasn't happy with the situation, Hermione could see that since Dumbledore's trust was enough to some people, many others looked that they still wanted to argue the point. However, Ron's voice was the one that could be heard; evidently the boy was beyond annoyed.

"Professor you can't do this! You can't possibly trust him!"

"Ron, be quiet!" said Mrs. Weasley, but Ron paid her no heed.

"This is insane! He's going to betray us the first chance he has! Harry, tell him!"

Many frowned at the boy's exuberance, but everyone turned to look at Harry with curiosity, evidently wondering if the dark-haired boy would fight Dumbledore's decition. Harry was biting his lower lip in thought; he had barely paid attention to anyone's words, more preoccupied in assessing the whole situation.

He had promised himself that if Malfoy offered an alliance he would accept it, but now that it was actually happening he felt apprehensive. Dumbledore had wanted Malfoy on their side since the beginning, but could the boy really be trusted? Hermione would say yes immediately, but Harry wasn't so sure of that. What did they know about Malfoy anyway? What reasons could the boy possibly have to betray his own family? The fact that Draco Malfoy had been dating Hermione of all people was insane enough! But Dumbledore was right in one thing: the Slytherins in Hogwarts needed leadership and Malfoy would be an ideal choice, it was not lost to the Gryffindor boy that the Slytherins so far had supported Malfoy's decisions, except Crabbe but that hardly mattered because the boy had already been expelled.

So, Malfoy was in fact the leader of Slytherin House, the question was, would they still follow him in a fight against Voldemort? Harry thought of Artemisa, he really didn't know the girl, they had only talked a few times, but he wanted to have the chance to get to know her better, he had realized that not all the Slytherins shared pureblooded ideals and many weren't so prejudiced against muggles or muggleborns, they only needed a little push in the right direction.

Harry glanced briefly at Hermione, they were risking too much, he wasn't sure he wanted to do it, but Voldemort wasn't giving them much choice. He tightened his lips, and praying to God that this was the right thing to do, he walked over to Malfoy and offered his hand.

"Welcome to our side Malfoy."

The blond studied Harry for a second and then shook the offered hand politely. Ron's disbelieving shriek was heard in the background, but Hermione was so happy that she hardly cared, she wanted to go and hug her boyfriend tightly, but she didn't dare to do it in front of the entire Order of the Phoenix, one surprise was shock enough for some of them and she really wanted to break the news to the Weasleys in a different way. So, she settled for approaching the blond and offered her hand too.

"I'm really glad you decided to join us Malfoy."

They could hear Ron's now distressed warning for Hermione to get away from Malfoy, but the girl just ignored it, Draco smirked and took her hand, kissing it with a bow. Hermione blushed, but felt very proud at the same time. That gesture of Malfoy succeeded in cooling the grown ups a little, and Mr. Weasley put an end to his younger son's protests. Hermione spent the rest of the meeting in a much better mood.

When they were ready to return to the school, Hermione saw the Weasley twins surrounding Malfoy, she walked over to the group in fear of a confrontation, but Fred and George apparently just were making sure that Malfoy knew they would be alert around him, the blond boy only smirked at them and then his eyes fell on Hermione, she smiled and told the twins that their mother was waiting for them, they evidently didn't want to leave her alone with the blond but Harry's arrival put them at ease and they walked away to find their parents. Harry and Draco glared at each other briefly before Harry sighed and looked around in discomfort, glad that they were in relative solitude.

"We better go now 'Mione, Ron and Ginny are with their family, and I really want to avoid any shouting match with Ron right now, I'm too tired for that."

Draco smirked and raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor.

"The weasel is giving you troubles Potter?" Harry glared at him, and Hermione sighed tiredly.

"He's being a prat, that's all."

"Tell me something new Granger." Draco looked at Hermione and narrowed his eyes at her unhappy face. "Has he done something stupid again? Or…?" he left the question open, he didn't like the idea of the Weasley boy hurting his girl in anyway, Hermione could see what he was thinking and shook her head.

"He's not been so nice lately, but I don't really care anymore, I told him that I won't be talking to him again, I just want him to leave me be."

"Good." Malfoy said with a bit of satisfaction, he wanted the Weasleys far away from what was his. He earned a nasty look from Potter for that.

"Listen Malfoy, I'm accepting this situation in part for Hermione's sake, but that doesn't mean that I'm ok with it, I'll still be watching you, and if you make one wrong move with Hermione you're going to be very sorry!"

"The same goes for you Potter." Said Malfoy, glaring at his nemesis, Hermione sighed at them.

"You men are impossible! Let's go Harry; I think McGonagall is waiting for us."

"Yeah, let's go."

Harry turned away and Hermione mouthed a 'later' to Draco before following her friend to the floo. The blond boy watched them go and then decided to find his godfather to do the same.

&&&&&&&

Hermione relaxed in the blankets at Malfoy's touch over her body, it had been a long day but the boy was doing wonders to help her forget about it, his hands were caressing each part of her with incredible tenderness and his mouth was trailing a path of kisses on every inch of her skin. She felt wonderful; Draco's teasing on her nipples was sending jolts of pleasure through her, his hands were tracing circles on her flanks and moving over to her belly, they stopped there and then she felt his fingers doing strange movements, barely touching her skin. Draco started to whisper some strange words that Hermione barely heard, she frowned and concentrated in her partner's voice, it was not Latin, she was about to ask Draco what he was doing when she felt magic surrounding her and getting stronger at her middle, the boy stopped his chant and she felt the magical energy melting into her, leaving a feeling of comfort on her.

"Draco? What did you do?"

Malfoy's mouth was at her neck now, resuming its previous activity.

"Don't worry pet, it's an ancient protection spell for the baby, Dumbledore gave it to me today, if anything bad happens our child is going to be fine."

"Oh Draco, thank you."

"I will protect you both; you don't have to worry about it."

They kissed passionately and resumed their love game. They didn't stop until they were both exhausted and cuddled in each other arms, Draco's hand playing with Hermione's curly locks, he kissed her forehead softly and muttered quietly.

"Mine. Both of you are mine. Never doubt it."

Hermione smiled happily in her lover's arms and let herself fall in a quiet slumber.

TBC


	23. Ron's problem

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**Author's note:** Ok, ok, this took a long while, but I promise that I'll finish it. Hopefully this month would be easier at job and I'll have more time to write.

I'm not truly satisfied with this chapter, but let's see what comes from it.

**Chapter 23.** **Ron's problem.**

The next week was complete chaos, there were aurors everywhere and some of the teachers had allowed the parents to attend their children lessons, to the utter embarrassment of some of them. The upper grades' schedules suffered drastic changes to make room for training sessions with the aurors, and Potions seemed to have mixed up with DADA, that meant more work for everybody since Snape was not as forgiving as professor Donovan was about homework.

The Slytherins were nervous and avoiding everyone as much as possible, their parents were the ones most intent on making sure that the castle was a secure place, some of them even demanded to test the wards themselves. Most of the muggleborns were gone the first day, but the majority of the other students remained. The news that Draco Malfoy was staying in Hogwarts surprised everyone, and predictably the purebloods and many half-bloods wanted to know what the boy was plotting.

Some Slytherins were dealing with family problems, Goyle and Zabini practically refused to see their parents, while Goyle senior simply shrugged and abandoned the castle, Blaise's mother went ballistic and demanded to see her son; she even tried to hex Dumbledore when the Headmaster pointed out that, since Blaise was legally an adult, no one could force him to talk with her. Mrs. Zabini made half her way to the dungeons looking for the Slytherin's common room, before she was intercepted by professor Snape and two aurors that urged her to leave the school. The next day Blaise received a howler that told to the world that he was no longer a Zabini; surprisingly the boy seemed rather relieved to hear that.

Draco wasn't having it so easy; the Slytherins opted for not bothering him with useless questions, but the rest of the school was determined to be a pain in the ass. Many had directly gone and ask him what in hell he thought he was doing, some of the Gryffindors went as far as to try and coax Harry to show Malfoy his place, but to their utter surprise Harry and Malfoy were now talking to each other as if the enmity between them had never existed; sure one wouldn't say that they acted like best friends, there still was tension and some times forced civility, but they apparently were in good terms; the Gryffindors weren't sure they liked that.

School problems apart, Draco was too conscious that some of the aurors were keeping a close watch on him, and some of the pureblooded wizards wanted to talk with him in private; Dumbledore didn't allow that, considering that it would be too much of a risk, but that didn't stop the parents from telling their children to follow Malfoy's every move. The junior Death Eaters had remained quiet; all that Draco got from them was a note with a simple statement: "_You're dead blood-traitor."_ He was a little wary of what they could do, but he really doubted they'll have the guts to try something big with so many aurors around.

What surprised Draco the most was that by the end of the week he still hadn't been notified of his disownment, maybe now that Narcissa was out of reach, Lucius Malfoy wouldn't dare to make a move that could give away his whereabouts. Draco tried to forget about his father and deal with the actual situation at Hogwarts, all in all everything seemed to go according to plan, the students slowly grew used to the strangers and resumed their usual behavior in classes, many were still not happy with the idea of Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins' alliance with the light side, but they apparently decided that the best thing to do was wait and see what would happen, the majority of them eventually stopped staring at Malfoy as if he had grown a second head.

Ron however was making his discomfort known, rather loudly, to the world. Draco swore that the boy wanted to end his days in St. Mungo's ward for the disabled, the red-head tried to provoke every Slytherin that crossed paths with him and was doing his best for getting hexed by both Malfoy and Potter with his constant comments of betrayed friendship, how nasty, evil people never change, and how some people were too gullible for their own good. Well, Draco thought that some other people were just too stupid for anyone's good; he wished that Potter had the sense to hex the red-head into oblivion once in a while, he was going beyond annoying. At least Weasley and Hermione weren't talking to each other, that was certainly a good thing in Malfoy's point of view, but Hermione didn't quite agree, she was sad and worried, there were some things in Ron's behavior that were irrational, she had known the boy for almost seven years and she had never seen him so fixated as he was now over her, and she didn't like the way he was taking his nearly obsessive idea that Draco Malfoy was evil incarnated.

It was not like Ron to be aggressive towards Harry and treat him like a traitor without even listen to him; Ron practically claimed that Harry had chosen Malfoy over him! That was ridiculous! Hermione knew that Ron could be stubborn and childish, but this situation was too much, even Ginny was surprised, everyone had assumed that Harry was doing what Dumbledore asked him to, but the Weasley boy wouldn't listen and he started to insult everyone that suggested that Harry was doing what was best to win the war, the red-head seemed to think that Harry should do what he, his best friend, said, and that everybody else should keep their mouths shut. The Gryffindors were starting to think that his jealousy finally took the better of him.

Hermione tried her best to ignore Ron, but it was getting difficult with his constant glaring to her, especially when Ginny decided that her brother's behavior was, in part, Hermione's fault for deny their mutual feelings. The red-headed girl even had the nerve to go and tell the Head Girl that she should consider stopping her tantrum and making things right with Ron; after two seconds of surprised shock, Hermione was really angry with Ginny and told her, in no uncertain terms, that she was not talking to Ron and that she didn't feel anything towards him, so Ginny could stop trying to couple them and leave her the hell alone! After that, the bushy-haired girl avoided every member of the Weasley family whenever possible.

Saturday afternoon caught Hermione in a depressing mood, not even the announcement that the ball was going to be that Sunday, as a way to eliminate the remaining tension among the parents that were staying at the school, could cheer her. She was walking to Gryffindor common room after having finished with the dancing group, with her cd recorder under her arm. She had to return to the room of requirement for a meeting with some seventh years, Harry and Draco had decided that they should chose beforehand which spells and curses the Slytherins would teach to the upper grades, like Dumbledore instructed. They had already started over the week with some basic protective spells and rituals and were planning to cover some offensive spells the next week. Hermione sighed, she could have stayed in the room of requirement and let the house elves put the recorder in its rightful place, but she hated to give them more work than necessary, besides, she wanted to retrieve a book from her trunk.

She was almost in the tower when the Weasley twins intercepted her, they were staying at the castle too because Mrs. Weasley wanted to keep them near. Hermione greeted them almost fearfully; she just knew that they would have something to say regarding Ron. They didn't disappoint her.

"Listen Hermione, we don't want to get our noses where no one invited us but…"

"We heard that you're having problems with Ron?"

Hermione gave a suffered sigh and continued walking while answering.

"Listen guys, we're not getting along too well these days, he's been a bit too obnoxious for me and he doesn't listen to common sense anymore. I'm just tired of his behavior."

The twins looked at each other knowingly.

"Just say the word Hermione, and we put some sense into him"

"Yeah, just because you're his girlfriend doesn't mean that you have to put on with his stupidities… Hermione?"

The girl stopped in her tracks upon listening the word 'girlfriend' and was now glaring at the two confused red-heads. George talked first.

"What's the matter?"

"Now, listen you two, I'm sick and tired of everyone assuming that Ron and I have, or should have, some kind of relationship! It was never like that between us! We had always been just friends! Is that not clear enough?!

The twins blinked at her, and then they looked at each other not knowing what to tell, finally Fred resumed the conversation.

"Ah, we're sorry Hermione; we didn't know that you think like that, it's just… well…"

"You and Ron were so falling for each other when we were still attending school, and we thought that perhaps you two had finally talked about it."

Hermione sighed again and her glare softened a bit.

"Well, at sometime I did have a crush on him, and maybe I even wanted to be more than just his friend, but that was a long time ago, I got over Ron since last year. Actually, I was never in love with him, he and Harry just happen to be my best friends, that's all."

"Gezz Herm, it's just that, well, I thought that you two could make a cute pair…"

"Yeah, and with your friendship to Harry and all the things that you three had gone through together, I don't know, it just felt natural to think that you would end up with either one of them."

"Besides, Ron told mom at Christmas that he was planning to propose to you."

"He did what?" Hermione blanched slightly, she was horrified, what Mrs. Weasley would think of her?

"Don't worry; I think mom would understand if you choose Harry over Ron, she knows that her sons are less than perfect."

Fred grinned to her, but Hermione paled even more. What in hell? Was everybody convinced that there couldn't be any other boy than Harry or Ron for her?

"Tell me Fred, why did you immediately assume that, since I don't want to be in a relationship with Ron, I would want one with Harry?"

Her tone was dangerous, and the twins noticed it instantly, their eyes widened in surprise at her.

"Mmm, I don't know… you don't hang around too much with the other boys so… well…"

Plausible, but Hermione was not satisfied, she started walking again, feeling very frustrated.

"Well, I do not want anything of the sort with Harry either! Now, if you excuse me, I have an important meeting and I had lost enough time already! Goodbye!"

And she hurried to Gryffindor tower, leaving the two confused twins in the hallway.

She was still fuming when she got out of the tower again, carrying her book, to return to the room of requirement. While she walked she was turning the situation over and over in her head. It wasn't only what the Weasleys said, Hermione had already realized that nearly every Gryffindor expected her to eventually reconcile with Ron, or at the very last turn over to Harry. It was as if in everybody's minds she was already married to either one of her two best friends, especially to Ron.

Well, fuck them all! Stupid people! The wizarding world was really screwed; she would show them a lesson! Suddenly she couldn't wait to see the faces of the Hogwarts' students when they realized she had been sleeping with Draco Malfoy. It was going to be a hell of a surprise!

She put her hand over her belly, imagining Harry's face when she'll tell him about the baby, and smiled at the image of a shocked Golden boy and a smirking Draco, her mood improved thinking about her soon to be family. What she cared about what people thought anyway? She had Draco and their child, and Harry was still her friend. Once Voldemort was defeated everyone would return to their own lives and would leave them alone.

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone suddenly pulled her roughly from behind; Hermione yelped in surprise and let the book fall when her back hit the nearest wall. She was shocked to see Ron in front of her, his hands were pinning her arms to the wall and there was a dark expression on his eyes that made her shudder involuntarily.

"Ron, what are you doing? Let me go!"

"No! I'm tired of your attitude! Harry can go and kiss Malfoy's ass if he wants, I don't really care if he gets himself in deep shit! But you are my girl Hermione! And it's bloody time you start acting like it!"

Ron leaned his entire body over hers and grabbed her chin painfully, Hermione yelped and tried to squirm away, but she didn't have much space to do it. She couldn't believe what was happening; Ron's mouth was inches away from hers.

"You are going to listen to me Hermione. From now on you're not allowed to talk to that little prick that thinks that he's better than me! I won't have my woman making acquaintances with the bloody Malfoys!! You hear me?!"

Ron tightened his grip and kissed her forcefully. The girl was downright scared, this boy couldn't be Ron Weasley, Ron wasn't like this, he could be mad at you, stop talking to you and would hold a grudge for ages, but he'll never go and attack someone like this, at least not the Ron she had been friends with! Hermione panicked and bit hard, drawing blood from Ron's mouth.

"Ow! You stupid bitch!"

Ron hit Hermione's right cheek, sending her to the floor, the girl quickly tried to scramble away while taking out her wand, but when she turned around Ron was already over her. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully, taking away Hermione's wand and pocketing it. The girl yelped in pain when she was forced to stand and shoved unceremoniously face first to the wall, Ron's body over hers and one of his hands gripping a handful of her hair.

"Ron, please! Stop it!"

"Shut up you bitch! I'm going to show you a lesson! You belong to me! And I'm not putting up with your shit anymore!!"

"No! You're not Ron! Let me go!"

Hermione trashed wildly, trying to make the boy lose his hold on her, Ron growled in anger and turned her over, backhanding her.

"Stay still bitch! Be quiet!"

"Ron?"

Hermione felt the boy turn sharply and she opened her crying eyes to see a horrified Ginny in the hallway.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"Go away Ginny! This is between my girl and me!"

Ginny's eyes couldn't possible grow wider; she stared openmouthed at her brother.

"You hit her. Ron you hit her! What's wrong with you?!"

"I said, go away Ginny!"

Ron moved to take out his wand and force his sister to leave, in the process he gave Hermione the space she needed to push him away, and she did so with all the force she could gather, knocking him to the floor, and without losing a second she started to run towards the room of requirement.

"Shit! You bitch! Come back here! Now!!"

"_Impedimenta!_"

Ron barely dodged Ginny's spell and stood up furious.

"Stay out of this Ginny!! She's going to get away!"

"Who are you? You're not Ron!"

"Don't be stupid! I'm your brother!"

"No! Ron would never hit Hermione! Never! He loves her!"

"I love her! And I'm trying to teach her a lesson! It is for her own good so stay away form it!!"

Ginny cast a stupefying spell, which Ron deflected and quickly disarmed her sister, Ginny turned around looking for cover, she had to get away and find help, however Ron hit her with a jelly legs and then a flying set of armor fell over her. Ron lost no more time in going after Hermione.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Don't be stupid Potter! You can't do that with this spell!"

"Why not? It should be easy!"

"Well, it's not!"

Draco was frustrated, why couldn't Potter get through his head that '_Dark Magic'_ didn't necessary meant '_Evil magic'_ and that not all dark spells were meant to do harm. Gryffindors were so thick! To top it all, Terry Boot and Ernie Macmillan decided that they had to be present in representation of their Houses and they were bloody useless, they didn't know a thing about Dark Magic and all they could do was complain the entire time about this crazy project of the Headmaster.

And exactly why was he dealing with all this idiocy alone? Oh yes, because bloody Blaise had chosen his girlfriend over him and had gone with her to find a more suitable place to snog in peace! Of course, the rest of the Slytherins simply had more important things to do than stay there and watch how he dealt with Potter's stupid questions, well Goyle had stayed for moral support, but at the moment he and Longbottom, who stayed to make Harry company, were engaged in a game of explosive cards and neither of them were paying real attention to the discussion taking place. Draco glared at them once in a while, thinking that it was rather bizarre to see the two of them in so friendly terms.

Then there was the fact that Hermione was not present! Draco didn't realize the moment she got out of the room of requirement, but he suspected that it could have been while he was occupied making fun of Potter, because the black-haired Gryffindor had not enough guts to face Nochland and invite her to the ball and had sent her a sweet note of invitation instead. Draco was worried about Hermione, the girl had been depressed the entire week and that was not good, it infuriated him that Weasley was the cause of her sadness, he really hadn't a clue of why she could still want the red-head as a friend, but she wanted it, and the way Weasley had been acting was really hurting her. Damned Weasleys! All of them should be banned from the wizarding world!

To top it all, he had this unease feeling in his gut telling him that something was wrong, and he couldn't quite define it, he somehow just knew that it had something to do with Hermione and suddenly felt the strong conviction that he should go and make sure that she was fine. Maybe it was the connection he made with the spell; it was designed so the magical signature of the non-borne child recognized him as his biological father and in the process established a weak bond with the mother, enough for the ancient magic to consider them life partners.

Potter was asking another inane question and Draco just felt that he would gladly curse the Gryffindor right then and there, when the door was thrown open and a crying Hermione practically thrown herself in their midst. Draco immediately stood and supported her, she looked as if she was about to collapse, Harry quickly joined him.

"Hermione? What happened?"

"I… I… Ron…" she couldn't stop sobbing but the name was pretty clear, Draco hugged her tightly and hissed.

"What did that bastard do Hermione?"

"Hermione, please tell us what happened." Harry was aghast, he heard the rest of the boys surrounding them and whispering, Malfoy was not paying any heed to them and Harry knew that the blond would not let Hermione go. The girl sobbed and then lifted her face from Malfoy's shoulder, Harry gasped in horror while Draco narrowed his eyes at the sight, Hermione's face was a downright disaster.

"He… he couldn't…"

"I don't know if it was Ron Harry… he… he was not himself… maybe someone using polyjuice… or maybe under Imperius…"

Draco growled and Harry automatically retired a step away from him, this was not good, they had to find out what happened.

Draco was ready to go hunting for the slimy bastard, Imperius or not the son of a bitch was dead as far as Malfoy was concerned, he was about to leave Hermione in Potter's care when the door was thrown open again to let an enraged Ron Weasley in.

"_Reducto!_" "_Impedimenta!_"

That was really fast, Draco swore and shoved Hermione out of danger's reach, barely registering the blasting noise and the fact that the spells weren't cast at him, someone was yelling and Hermione was screaming something about Potter, he quickly took out his wand and aimed. Three _Expelliarmus_ were shouted at the same time and Ron hit hard the wall, his wand went flying over to Longbottom's feet. Draco turned around to see if Hermione was alright, she was beside an unconscious Potter who by the way was near to a very big hole in the stone floor and one of his legs was bleeding. Draco wondered why Hermione wasn't reviving her problematic friend when he heard "_Dermis inflamare!_" at his back followed by a pain-filled scream.

Malfoy quickly turned around again, astonished of having heard such a curse, he saw McMillan screaming with his left arm on fire, the others were trying to help him while Weasley looked dispassionately at them.

"Sorry Ernie, I thought you were Malfoy."

The red-head looked over at a speechless Draco; maybe the polyjuice theory was the correct one, even the blond slytherin could tell that this couldn't possible be Ron Weasley, he had little time to recover from his shock because the next instant Ron was aiming to him with Hermione's wand and casting a bloody "_Incendio!_".

Malfoy managed a protection spell just in time, but the flames spread everywhere around him, suddenly the very stones were in fire, that was not a common '_Incendio_', Weasley was using dark magic that he wasn't supposed to know! Draco blocked out the desperate yells of the others, who were trying to extinguish the fire, and attacked.

"_Engorgio!_"

Ron deflected the spell and someone screamed, Weasley paid no heed to the noise and continued with his fight.

"_Furnunculus!_"

Draco managed to return the spell to its caster and had the satisfaction of hearing Weasley scream.

"Son of a bitch! You're gonna pay for this Malfoy! _Serpensortia!_"

Draco almost rolled his eyes at the serpent before him.

"You gotta be kidding me. _Evanesco!_"

"What is happening here?!"

Draco turned over to see a very angry professor McGonagall and he lowered his wand a fraction, which resulted to be a mistake because the next thing he heard was "_Crucio!!_"

The curse actually wasn't so strong, but the pain was enough to drive him to his knees screaming. He was marginally aware of McGonagall taking out her wand and interrupting the curse.

"Mr. Weasley! What do you think you're doing?!"

To Draco's surprise, Ron turned around and stupefied his head of house, the woman was so shocked that she didn't react and she fell backwards, right into professor Snape, who was just entering the room along with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Draco saw his chance and promptly aimed to his target.

"_Sectumsempra!!_"

The force of the spell threw Ron right into the wall and then to the floor where he remained, Draco fought the aftereffects of the cruciatus and stood up, he started to walk towards the fallen boy, he was going to beat the bastard to a bloody pulp with his bare hands, however professor Snape's voice prevented him from going on with his intentions.

"Mr. Malfoy, that's enough!"

"He attacked us!! And he crucioed me!!"

"And I can see that you had already taken care of him. Now back off!"

"Not nearly enough." Muttered Malfoy, but he desisted in favor of going making sure that Hermione was alright; by that time the girl had already taken hold of Harry's wand and was helping Shacklebolt to extinguish the remaining fire; Potter was still on the floor, demanding to know what had happened and apparently with a broken leg.

The professors quickly assessed the damage, and then they gathered the students and proceeded to herd them to the hospital wing for urgent treatment.

&&&&&&&&&&

Madam Pomfrey was not pleased when their sorry lot entered the infirmary. Mcmillan and Weasley were the most injured ones, but professor Snape had successfully stopped the bleeding that the many cuts caused by the _Sectumsempra_ had provoked on Weasley, so Madam Pomfrey devoted herself entirely to Ernie, whose arm was practically carbonized. Draco suspected that it had been damaged beyond repair and he involuntary flinched remembering what _Dermis Inflamare_ did to a body.

The blond Slytherin received a stern reprimand form McGonagall, while he was given a potion to counteract the aftereffects of the cruciatus, because his last spell had been too strong, it could have killed Weasley had professor Snape not being there to do the necessary healing. Draco hardly cared. The insane git had been about to kill them all! He deserved what he got and more! However, he refrained to speak his mind because Dumbledore was there with Mrs. Weasley and the woman was already hysteric as it was, she insisted that there was no way in the world that her son had done the things they said he did; Malfoy couldn't bring himself to disagree with her, Weasley's behavior had been pretty bizarre, Draco realized that Potter was throwing uneasy glances every once in a while to Weasley's bed and scowling, maybe he was waiting for the effects of some hypothetic polyjuice potion to end, Draco was half expecting it too, mostly because he highly doubted that someone had the ability to cast such a well done _Imperius_, he was convinced that only him, and maybe Blaise and a few more Slytherins were that talented.

Madam Pomfrey finally finished with Mcmillan and did a quick scan of the rest of them before seeing to the Weasley boy. Ginny Weasley was sleeping on a bed, the professors had extracted her from under a heavy set of armor, she had been the one to tell them that Ron had gone crazy, she suffered minor injuries and would be alright soon; Terry Boot and Goyle had miraculously escaped the mess practically unscratched and were quickly checked out and sent away; Neville had been the one to receive Malfoy's deflected _Engorgio_ and he had an enormous left ear, some bruises and minor burnings, he was given a potion and told to rest for a while, the boy fell asleep almost immediately; Potter had a broken leg and a bump on his head, Madam Pomfrey attended him quickly and ordered him to stay overnight in the Hospital wing; Malfoy only had some bruises, but the mediwitch told him to stay until she was sure that the aftereffects of the cruciatus had worn off and gave him some chocolate.

She took a little more time with Hermione, the mediwitch was clearly not pleased with the girl's looks and she did a complete examination, muttering occasionally under her breath. Malfoy paid his full attention to them while they were at it, straining his ears to catch whatever bit of important information about his child he could hear, apparently all was in order and the mediwitch gave Hermione a potion and told her to rest. After that, Madam Pomfrey, professor Dumbledore and the auror took Ron to a private room to check him.

As soon as the mediwitch was gone, Malfoy transferred himself to Hermione's bed and took a comfortable position with her head on his lap, ignoring the murderous look that Harry was throwing his way and the shocked expressions of McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley, his godfather only glared barely and then rolled his eyes at him; Draco didn't care, he was tired of all the secrecy and anyway they were going to know at the ball on Sunday night, besides, if Dumbledore wanted Hogwarts attacked they all were going to be in serious danger, so it was pointless to hide their relationship any longer, he had decided that it was time for everyone to know that Hermione Granger belonged to him. The girl seemed to agree with his notion, because she quickly accepted him in the bed with her and sighed contentedly when he started petting her hair.

Potter sighed in defeat after a while and McGonagall had that stern look on her face that said that she didn't approve of something, Draco returned her the look, daring her to say something, however Mrs. Weasley was the one to speak.

"Hermione, I don't think that you should let Malfoy do that, you are dating Ron after all."

She said it glaring at Draco, the boy narrowed his eyes to her and Hermione sighed and sat in the bed, allowing the blond boy to embrace her, to the utter surprise of the elder witches.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley. Whatever Ron had told you, we never dated, I don't want him for my partner, I only liked him as my friend."

Mrs. Weasley looked taken aback, her lips pressed in a thin disapproving line.

"Is this the reason for him to be so angry then?"

Harry coughed an answered the question.

"Ron doesn't know about Hermione and Malfoy Mrs. Weasley, he thinks that they are starting a friendship, he has convinced himself that Hermione is going out with me."

Mrs. Weasley was speechless for a moment and professor McGonagall took the opportunity to speak.

"I must say that this is indeed a surprise. Does professor Dumbledore knows about this?"

Draco smirked and said.

"As a matter of fact, he was quite cheerfully making plans for us."

"Draco."

"It's true!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and cuddled closer to him, Mrs. Weasley was still stunned.

"I… I don't know what to say, I always thought you would be good for my son Hermione…"

"Please Mrs. Weasley, I love you all, you are like another family to me, but even if Draco hadn't appeared I'll never marry Ron, I just never loved him that way."

Mrs. Weasley wanted to say something more, but at that moment Dumbledore, Shacklebolt and Madam Pomfrey got out of the private room, none of them seemed too happy and the auror excused himself immediately. Harry lost no time in asking.

"What happened professor? Who was it?"

"Easy my boy. I'm afraid that there's no trace of polyjuice potion in his system, neither the magical trace of an Imperius."

"What?! But that's not possible!"

"Dumbledore, are you sure?"

"I'm sorry Molly; he is indeed your son; however we found traces of another potion, an extremely rare one, the _Aprioris_ _Homus_."

Draco stiffened at the name and scowled, Weasley's behavior was no longer a mystery to him, Harry's face however was blank.

"What is that potion?"

"It was widely used at medieval times." Said Hermione, of course she had read something about it somewhere. "It's supposed to take out the individual's basic instincts, so they won't stop at anything in a fight."

"Thank you Miss Granger, you see Harry, the potion suppress any notion of social rules in a person, allowing him or her to just follow instinct without thinking on the consequences of his actions and without remorse. People under its influence do things that they wish to do, but would not under normal circumstances, the moment that their conscience lacks the notion of morals, ethics and other social impediments, they let their basic self to take control."

"But, that spell he cast, I don't know where he could have learned it, he's not much of a library person." Said Hermione

"That's easy enough; whoever feed him the potion could have taught the spell to him."

"So, you're saying that someone must have been influencing Ron all this time?"

"Well, if you want to see it that way Potter." Said Malfoy condescendingly. "I bet Patil has something to do with it."

"Parvati?! Are you insane Malfoy?!"

"I have known that girl longer than you have Potter, in case you don't remember she is a pureblood and has been Pansy's friend for years, even before we started Hogwarts."

Harry was speechless; he hadn't known about Parvati been Pansy's friend. Professor Snape seemed thoughtful.

"Yes, the Patils and the Parkinsons had always been very close indeed. And it would have been easier for the Patil twins to obtain some of the ingredients of the Potion."

"It's a possibility Severus, but we can't prove it." Said McGonagall, a little upset to have this kind of problems in her House. Mrs. Weasley was anxious.

"But all of this means that it was really Ron the one to cause all this trouble, what is going to happen to him? He cast an unforgivable!"

"Don't worry Molly," said Dumbledore trying to reassure her, "Shacklebolt is doing his report now, but in this case the law protects your son, he was under the influence of a potion and could not distinguish good from evil, the one who gave him the potion is to hold the responsibility for Ron's actions."

Mrs. Weasley relaxed a little after that and then started to worry about her son's health; Madam Pomfrey assured her that the boy would be alright.

"He's going to be fine in about a week; however that last curse could have killed him."

Madam Pomfrey turned to look severely at the caster of said curse, and that was when she noticed that Malfoy and Granger were practically cuddling together, she was stunned for an instant.

"Mr. Malfoy! What are you doing?!"

"What? I'm not bothering her."

The boy had the temerity to glare at the mediwitch, stating firmly that he was not going to move from his spot. Madam Pomfrey was utterly confused while Dumbledore smiled to the young couple.

"Well, you can't keep appearances forever. Don't worry Poppy; I'm sure they'll be alright. Now, we have some other things to discuss, let's go Molly."

The professors and Mrs. Weasley abandoned the hospital wing, leaving the students to recover. Draco and Hermione cuddled closer together, ignoring the disapproving look of the mediwitch and that Harry rolled his eyes at them.

&&&&&&&&

Snape looked idly at professor McGonagall's back while she exited the Headmaster's office. The woman had not been pleased with the notion of Draco and Hermione Granger being more than just friends, she had voiced to the Headmaster her concerns for the girl, feeling that somehow she was being pressured into a dubious relationship, with a boy she disliked, only for the sake of the war; of course the Headmaster diminished her concerns and that had angered her. Well, she may have motives for distrusting Draco Malfoy, but Snape knew that the deputy Headmistress hated to see one of her most prominent Gryffindors with the likes of a Slytherin; he was going to enjoy seeing her face when she'll found out who was the girl Potter finally invited to the ball.

In the meantime, he still wanted to talk a little more with Dumbledore.

"I hope that this incident with the Weasley boy convinced you of the necessity of doing something about the Dark Lord's followers, McMillan was severely hurt and it could have been worse, Mrs. Granger's child could have been lost."

"Don't worry Severus, we had taken the necessary measures for the child to be safe, this incident was most unfortunate, I must admit that I wasn't expecting the students to try something like this. Now the damage is done, but at least we wouldn't have to worry about Ron Weasley for the moment."

"Ah, yes. The boy was still under the illusion that Mrs. Granger was 'in love' with him."

"He was starting to be a problem, but I think that he'll be quieter now, with the added bonus that we wouldn't have to deal with him in the ball. As for Voldemort's followers, we will have to take some additional precautions indeed, but I'd prefer not to confront them directly, there is still chance for them to reconsider their actions."

"As you wish, but I think that the rest of the students would be safer if the black sheep knew that we are watching them."

"Indeed. Maybe you should start to give them some specific 'orders' Severus, just enough to keep them quiet."

"Of course. After all, the Dark Lord would be most unpleased if he had to change his plans because a bunch of children made a silly mistake."

"I'll leave them to you then, just make sure that they'll be quiet tomorrow, we wouldn't want to have problems in front of the Minister of Magic, he'll may decide not to stay after all."

Personally, Snape thought that a lot of problems could be avoided if the Headmaster wasn't so forgiving, but as he was in no position for voicing that particular idea he remained quiet and followed Dumbledore's orders.

&&&&&&

Malfoy was kicked out of the Hospital wing at dinner time, he hadn't wanted to go but Hermione begged him not to fight with Madam Pomfrey and she assured him that she would be alright; she was going to stay in the infirmary overnight and would be at the tower on Sunday morning. She also promised that she wouldn't try to see if Ron Weasley was ok. Finally, Blaise appeared to see if Draco was fine and the mediwitch took the opportunity to send the Slytherin with his housemate.

Draco was still fuming, he was sure that Parvati was the one to blame for Weasley's temporal insanity, the girl knew that the git already thought that Hermione should be with him and she used it to her advantage, besides, angering Ron Weasley had always been easy enough, he was the perfect subject for Patil's plot. Malfoy wanted to strangle her.

"I'm telling you that it was her Blaise! She and Weasley had been too close these days!"

"But you can't be sure Draco, what about the others?"

"Oh, please! They all are a bunch of lousy Ravenclaws, they have no imagination! She's cleaver in the dark arts and her sister surely helped her! That bitch was the one to do this, I'm sure!"

"And what are you going to do? You can't do anything without getting in troubles Malfoy!"

"I'll think something, she's gonna be very sorry of having endangered my future wife Blaise, very sorry!"

Blaise stopped walking and gaped at Malfoy.

"Wife?! Draco are you serious?"

The blond turned around and smirked at his friend.

"Did I surprise you Blaise? What did you think I was playing at?"

"I… I don't know, I just thought you were doing that exactly! Just playing! That and maybe you wanted to get murdered by Potter and Weasley; I didn't think you were that serious!"

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you were never serious before."

Malfoy stared at his friend, thinking that it could be a hint of hurt in his last statement, he arched an eyebrow in askance but Blaise smirked at him.

"Now, don't get me wrong Malfoy, it was fun and I'm happy with Alice, I just never thought you were going to fall for someone, let alone a Gryffindor and a …"

Blaise stopped in mid sentence and bit his lip; Draco rolled his eyes at him.

"Just say it Blaise."

"Well, a mudblood, and exactly the one that used to infuriate you the most. To have her as your lover is one thing, but I never really considered that you'll want to marry her."

Malfoy smirked and continued walking, he couldn't blame Blaise, it was really out of character and he wasn't sure how things ended this way, but he needed Hermione Granger, and he wasn't going to let her go. Both Slytherins continued talking on their way to the Great Hall, and started plotting what Malfoy could do for revenge. They paused a moment before entering, Draco knew that he was going to be the center of attention and he didn't like the perspective, but he wanted to see the reactions of some specific students. As soon as they entered, everyone had their eyes on the blond, especially the adults, Draco could feel the looks from the table that was added for Hogwarts' guests; he did his best to ignore the gossip about him saving Potter's life and being close friends with Granger, and occupied himself in studying the Dark Lord's supporters, remembering that he had already started a plot regarding these idiots, he decided to talk about it with Blaise later in the dormitory.

&&&&&&&&

Alice Anthera was not a happy Ravenclaw at the moment, she was pacing back and forth in front of the door of a deserted classroom, thinking how in hell she had gotten herself in this trouble, she loved Blaise, she really did, and she didn't want to betray his trust, but survival was survival, and she was doubting that her boyfriend's loyalty to Malfoy was going to be useful. Anyway, she had been listening to Thorney's promises for about two weeks now and she wasn't sure of what to do anymore, after all she was not a pureblood, she was a half-blood, but she had been told that it wouldn't matter if she did things right, no one had cared to tell her what would imply to do things right!

She didn't have time to continue arguing with herself about the many reasons for not to be there, the door suddenly opened and a seventh year Ravenclaw glared at her.

"Well, about time Anthera, you shouldn't have been late in your first meeting!"

"Sorry." She said lamely and entered with her housemate.

There were around ten students in the classroom, Ravenclaws the majority of them, three Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff, Alice almost huffed at the irony of the lack of Slytherins, Thorney greeted her and proceeded to ask her if she had any information that could be useful. Of course everyone had already recognized her as Blaise's girlfriend. Alice took a deep breath and told them about Malfoy's suspicions regarding Ron Weasley.

"So, they know what the cause of his behavior was but don't know who brewed the potion." Stated Thorney. "Right Alice?"

"Yes, but Blaise said that Malfoy is sure that Parvati is responsible."

"It doesn't matter." Said Parvati from her seat on the desk. "He can't prove it and he can't do anything about it. The fact is that he saved Granger again! Tell me, do you know what his goal is really?"

"Well, they had been very close lately."

"It's clear that he wants everyone to think that he's Potter's friend" said another Ravenclaw "But I wouldn't think that he was as insane as to lower himself to make friends with the mudblood."

"Mmm, well, according to Blaise they are more than just friends."

There was shocked silence after that last statement; Padma was the one to recover first.

"Are you telling us that they have some kind of closure? That's not possible!"

"Blaise implied that they have been sleeping together, and that it has been going on for some time."

The students were enraged, they couldn't believe it, Thorney demanded that they do something about it, but Parvati reminded them that Snape had been very clear in his instructions.

"We must remain quiet, the professor managed to keep Dumbledore thinking that somehow Weasley drank the potion outside Hogwarts, there are certain spells that could have made its effects to show after a long time, but we can't do anything now."

"Maybe if we tell professor Snape about this…"

"I'm sure that he already knows, besides, the Dark Lord would attack soon, he has told us that."

"Well, what do we do?"

"I'll deal with Malfoy, leave him to me."

"But Parvati," said Alice "he already suspects you, and he wants to get revenge for the incident."

"He wants revenge? Well let him try it! Let's see if he dares to do something at tomorrow's ball, we can't do anything on the open but we can surprise him."

They argued a little while over what to do, and decided at last that they would go to Snape for advice.


	24. Coming out

Disclaimer for Harry Potter in the first chapter.

**Author's note:** Having a job sucks.

**Chapter 24.** **Coming out.**

Hermione took Sunday's breakfast with her mother, Mrs. Granger was getting better and she could eat without help now, she still won't speak but that didn't stop Hermione from telling her some of the things that had happened. After they finished eating, the girl left her mother in a quiet slumber and returned to the main ward of the hospital wing, so she and Harry could leave to Gryffindor tower. However, Madam Pomfrey called her to have a word in private; the girl went grudgingly, since she knew that the mediwitch did not approve of her pregnancy and would likely have something to say about Draco.

Some minutes later, an upset Hermione went out of Pomfrey's office, holding back tears as she hurried to the exit. She paused when she saw Harry kissing Artemisa goodbye and smiled briefly. The Slytherin girl had come over the night for a quick visit and Hermione had been glad that Ron and Mcmillan had private rooms and that her fellow Gryffindors had already been cleared from the hospital wing. Thank Merlin none of them had noticed Draco's long stay at Hermione's side, because the blond liked to have privacy and had closed the curtains around Hermione's hospital bed; the bushy-haired girl was grateful for having avoided a confrontation with Ginny.

Now, the Gryffindor Head girl only sighed and waited for her friend to say goodbye to Nochland, then she snickered at the blush in Harry's face.

"I'm glad that you are making progress with her Harry."

"Um, yeah, well, she's really nice and a good listener… something's wrong 'Mione?"

So much for Harry not noticing her red puffy eyes, Hermione sighed and continued her way to the exit.

"It's nothing, let's go Harry."

She resumed walking and exited the hospital wing, with Harry on her heels, only to stop face to face with a surprised Draco Malfoy, who had come to see why she hadn't been in the Great Hall at breakfast.

"Hermione, are you alright?"

The girl looked at him for a second and then started sobbing. Draco embraced her and glared murderously at Harry, who raised his hands into the air, claiming innocence.

"Don't look at me Malfoy! She talked with Madam Pomfrey and got out like that!"

That made Draco to turn worried eyes at his girlfriend.

"Madam Pomfrey? Is something wrong?"

"No… nothing's wrong, it's only that… I'm sensible that's all."

Draco narrowed his eyes in disbelief, making her sigh.

"It's nothing, really, she's not pleased with my choices and she made it quite clear that she thinks that I have not been considering my future as carefully as I should! She thinks that I've been letting my hormones guide my brain! And she asked me if I really think that you would be an appropriate father! She thinks that I have betrayed Ron!"

Harry had retired some steps back, entertaining himself with the portrait of a curious man-eating plant, Malfoy decided that he was not paying attention to them and settled for hugging Hermione tighter, hissing at her ear.

"She had no right to tell you that love. Just wait 'till I talk with her, I'm not putting on with her shit!"

"No, it's really not important, I'm just upset, why everybody suddenly wants to have a say in my life? It's no one business anyway!"

"Ssh, it's ok pet, they're not important."

Draco held Hermione's face in his hands for a moment, and then leaned in to kiss her, ignoring Harry's groan of discomfort, he lost himself on his girlfriend's lips for a moment, not paying the least amount of attention to Potter, who was trying to say something, however it was hard to ignore a hand on his shoulder shaking him.

"What the hell?! Blaise?!"

"Hi Draco! Enjoying the morning?"

Hermione blushed and Malfoy glared murderously at his friend.

"I was until you showed up! Really Blaise! Do I interrupt you when you and Alice are snogging?!"

"Well, yes. If professor Snape is calling."

Hermione chuckled at Blaise's antics; Draco just continued glaring at him.

"Professor Snape sent you?"

"Yes, he wants a House meeting, now."

Draco groaned and resigned to his fate, but he still gave Hermione a long goodbye kiss.

"See you later love. Potter, close your mouth, Nochland wouldn't like it if you spend the night gaping at us. Don't forget our plan. And bring her orchids!"

Harry clenched his fists and glared at Malfoy's back until both Slytherins were out of sight.

"That damned git! He's infuriating! Why it had to be him 'Mione?!"

"Oh Harry! You two are so funny sometimes!"

"Funny?! This is not funny! And how come he knows a lot about 'Misa?!"

"Well, they're in the same House, and their families have known each other for a long time, they're like childhood friends, you told me that the other day, don't you remember?"

"Yes! Yes. But he's still infuriating!"

"Come on Harry, you two can get along pretty well, and after all, he helped you with Artemisa."

"Yes, but I have the suspicion that he only did it because he wants to keep me occupied!"

Hermione giggled while they walked over to Gryffindor tower, feeling a lot better.

The castle was almost empty, the majority of the students were in Hogsmeade, getting everything they'd need for the night; although Gringotts was destroyed and money was scarce, Dumbledore had been magnanimous and had offered access to Hogwarts' treasure; many had took advantage of the offer; so everyone was trying to forget the war by taking a shopping trip to the town, even the firsts years had been allowed to go in their parents company, and so most of the aurors were patrolling Hogsmeade too. Anyway, the few students that crossed paths with Harry and Hermione stared at them for a moment before continuing their way, making the Gryffindor girl feel uncomfortable.

"Harry, do you think that they know about me and Draco already?"

"Well, you did make quite an entrance yesterday, and Malfoy was at your side all the way to the Hospital wing and inside it, there sure be a lot of gossip, but I must say that Zabini was not surprised to see the both of you kissing."

"Oh, well that is because he already knew."

Harry looked dumbfounded at her.

"What?! Are you telling me that the Slytherins knew?"

"Not all the Slytherins, only Blaise, he… found out before you."

Harry looked at her deep blush of embarrassment and groaned.

"I suppose I don't want to know how that happened."

"You're right. Let's talk about other things, like what is this plan that Draco mentioned?"

"Oh, it's a small thing. Malfoy likes to play with people's minds, he figured that there would be a lot of gossip and when you were sleeping we agreed that I'm going to take you to the Great Hall and he's going to take 'Misa as if she was his date. We'll change partners at the opening dance. He wants to confuse everyone and minimize the chance that someone would have funny ideas and might try to prevent you from getting at the ball."

"And you're ok with it?"

"Yes, to be honest Herm, I know that except for Slytherin, the rest of the Houses still don't have a clue that 'Misa and I are getting a lot comfortable with each other, and your problem with Ron seems to be all the Gryffindors are talking about these days, they barely notice my own affairs. I'm sorry 'Mione, I know it's not fair to you, but it's really nice to not be the focus of attention at least for a while and I don't want them to bother Artemisa, I really want them to know about her as late as possible, that way I won't have to listen to people trying to stop me from taking a Slytherin to the ball."

"Ha, it's ok Harry, I know how it feels. Don't worry; I think it's a good plan."

Harry smiled and felt less guilty. They were close to the tower now and were about to pass in front of McGonagall's office, when the door opened and their Head of House appeared.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, I see that you are out of the Hospital wing, come in, I want to have a word with you two."

"Sure professor."

Both friends entered the office and took a seat in front of McGonagall's desk, wondering if there was some kind of problem, the deputy headmistress seemed rather annoyed.

"First of all, I'll like to inform you that all the gossip in the school is about how Mr. Weasley attempted to kill Mr. Potter to get his girlfriend back, the students think that Mr. Malfoy got caught in the crossfire and was forced to save you."

Harry felt his jaw hit the floor, amazed that no one had made a comment about Hermione throwing herself in Malfoy's arms.

"Just that?"

"Yes, apparently Mr. Boots and Mr. Longbottom thought that Miss Granger was a little confused at the moment, they believe that she was pleading Mr. Malfoy to help you. The truth is that the students don't see your recent familiarity with the boy as nothing more than a friendship, they wouldn't believe that Mr. Malfoy would ever want anything more; and quite frankly neither do I."

Harry widened his eyes while Hermione frowned at her Head of House.

"Uh?"

"I beg your pardon professor?"

"Listen Miss Granger, I know that I supported the Headmaster's idea of making you two work together for the school's sake, but it was never my intention that you felt pressured to try any further."

Hermione clutched her fists, once again someone wanted to stuck the nose in her life, she tried to remain calm and answer politely to the elder witch.

"Professor, I assure you that no one pressured me to do anything. Draco and I just happened to realize that we have a lot in common and that we like each other very much."

"But girl, you two don't have many things in common."

"Sorry?"

"Listen, Mr. Malfoy is not the kind of person who would support you, he's a selfish and arrogant person and his way of life doesn't fit you."

Hermione opened his mouth at her professor's condescending tone and repressed the urge to yell at her.

"Sorry professor, but how can you know that? I mean, you don't know him…"

"Hermione, you can do much better than him." said McGonagall interrupting her. "Harry for example would be a much wiser choice, don't you think so?"

"Excuse me?" this time it was Harry the one clutching his fists, the professor seemed not to notice.

"I'm aware that we have to remain united and that the Slytherins would be a great help to our side, but the truth is that neither of them would make a good life partner for a Gryffindor. Just think about it a little more girl, I'll hate for you to ruin your life for making a bad choice based in hormones. Mr. Potter, I know that professor Dumbledore suggested that you go with someone of another House to the ball, but I would prefer that you take Miss Granger instead, I presume that you had not invited anyone yet, so you'd have no troubles. You can go now."

The two youngsters were too shocked and angry to utter a coherent reply, so they opted for leaving without further comments and resume their way to Gryffindor tower. Hermione was shaking in anger.

"How dare she?! She doesn't even know what she's talking about! I can't believe that she thinks she has any right to make my life her business!!"

Harry tried to calm her, but it was difficult when he was angry too at McGonagall's audacity. They agreed to not tell Malfoy about the incident, as they preferred to avoid having to control an outraged blond before he committed murder. They arrived to their common room and thanked the gods that it was deserted, so they could finally have some resemblance of peace.

Harry decided to go to Hogsmeade to look for orchids, but Hermione chose to retire to her room, she wanted to study a little, even when there wouldn't be any N.E.W.T.S. some of the teachers, like Snape, were going to apply a final test; besides, she was in the middle of a very interesting book that explained the embryo development on each month of the pregnancy, and she certainly didn't want to have to explain to anyone who could drop in the common room why she was reading that particular book.

She wasn't worried about the ball, she had acquired everything she would need since they were informed of it; she was only a tiny bit nervous about how she would look like with the attire she planned to wear, her tummy was already showing a little, but a glamour would take care of that, all her worry was about what Draco would think when he'll see her, after all he was an aristocrat, and Hermione had no delusions about his expectations concerning social events, she knew that he would look at every detail and she wanted him to be pleased. That thought made her want to laugh, she had never before worried about what a man would think of her attire, not even when she danced with Krum, that time she had only wanted to show Ron a lesson and the change in her hair had been enough to do the trick, now however she would have to pay attention to every detail, she'll have to look perfect since Draco wouldn't accept anything less.

Of course he'll have to look perfect too, after all they were planning to shock the entire school, and Harry's surprise would be no less shocking, Hermione prayed to God that no one dared to start an overall attack in the middle of the party.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

After a few hours of reading, with Crookshanks on her lap, she realized that it was time for lunch and stood up; hoping that Harry had already returned from Hogsmeade and that everyone else had stayed there a little longer.

Hermione was half way down the stairs to the common room, when she could hear Ginny sobbing while Harry's voice was reminding her that both had agreed to just be friends. Hermione sighed, she knew that Ginny had not given away hope on Harry entirely, but until now the red-haired girl had been content with waiting her best chance, she was even dating Dean though not seriously. She heard Ginny's outraged scream for Harry to go to hell and then furious steps coming her way and groaned, soon Ginny's figure appeared in the stairs and Hermione remained frozen in the spot, the red-haired girl noticed her and stopped at her side, glaring at the Head girl with rancor, Hermione didn't know what to say, she was rather alarmed to see that Ginny evidently was blaming her, she didn't see the slap coming until her cheek burned from the sudden impact.

"You knew that I still loved him! You should have stayed with Ron where you belonged! You don't deserve my Harry!"

Ginny ran upstairs, leaving a stunned Hermione behind, the bushy-haired girl touched her cheek gingerly and felt tears in her eyes, somehow she was not expecting Ginny to react that way. She was about to return to her room to cry her eyes out when she spotted Parvati standing a few steps over and looking down at her with a curious expression, Hermione suddenly felt like an ant being watched by a troublesome kid and all the sadness in her instantly mutated to anger, she glared defiantly to Parvati who merely started climbing down the stairs.

"Your affairs are causing problems Granger? Poor Ginny, she wished so much for another chance with Harry! It seems that this has not been a good year for both Weasleys."

Hermione gritted her teeth, refusing to answer to Parvati's words; the other girl didn't seem to mind and stopped beside her, just as Ginny had done.

"You can't really blame them for their 'desperate' actions; after all, a miserable family like theirs has little chance to get out from the hole they are in. I'm sure that Harry Potter has been their big opportunity to bright. The friends of the boy-who-lived, what an honor, or in your case, it seems that you could even be the boy-who-lived's bride, just imagine it!"

Hermione continued glaring, she was starting to feel nauseous, if Parvati didn't close her mouth soon she may as well punch her, she fought the urge to give a step back when Parvati leaned to be eye to eye with her.

"I suggest that you stick to your little hero and remain there."

Once said that, Parvati continued climbing down the stairs, while Hermione gaped at her in disbelief, she could be a book-worm but she recognized a threat when she heard one. The Head girl looked at the retreating figure of her housemate, wondering if she should go after her and demand an explanation; however she realized that Harry was calling and he sounded rather desperate, so Hermione hurried downstairs to calm down her friend. Harry asked her what had happened with Parvati and Ginny, but Hermione said it was nothing and diminished Ginny's outburst in favor to go and have lunch; she was unbelievable hungry again.

For once, Hermione could eat in peace, there was only a few students in the table, and even when they stared at Harry and her when they entered the Great Hall, no one disturbed them or asked questions.

Draco wasn't there and Hermione initially felt worried about that, until Goyle informed her that the blond boy had gone to Hogsmeade, then she felt sad because he hadn't invited her to go with him. She started to pile food in her plate while berating herself at being foolish and emotional, and blaming the hormones for it, then she continued eating automatically. She didn't notice that Nochland, who had sat beside her, was watching her lunch with interest until she heard the girl asking.

"Cravings Granger?"

"Mm?" Hermione looked at her delicious mixture of liver, rice, onions, cucumber and strawberry ice cream, and vaguely wondered what had made Nochland notice it. "Yeah, sometimes."

She answered absent mindedly, her brain still mulling over the fact that Draco was in Hogsmeade without her. The Slytherin girl smiled knowingly at her and both girls continued eating their lunch in companionable silence.

It wasn't until later, while she was fighting with her hair in her bedroom, that Hermione realized what she had said to the girl.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Draco was outside one of the girl's bathrooms, waiting for his supposed date to get out, a few steps away from him, Blaise, Gregory and a Slytherin sixth year, were waiting too for their respective partners. Draco sighed impatiently, they have taken ages to get out of the Slytherin's dungeons and still they had to make a last stop at the bathroom! He'll never understand why women felt the necessity to go to the restrooms in groups, or why it took them a lot of time to get out.

He checked out his watch and was about to chide Blaise for an obnoxious comment when he saw a couple approaching them, he immediately straightened and gestured to his fellow Slytherins to be quiet, soon he recognized Parvati and Thorney and his hand conspicuously went under his robes to caress his wand. The couple stopped in front of him and Thorney gave him a nasty smile.

"Well, hi Malfoy. Going to pick someone?"

"It's none of your business Thorney. I'm sure that you two are quite in a hurry to get to the Great Hall, you won't want to miss the opportunity to check out all the other couples and maybe wail in self misery because you couldn't get something better."

Thorney gritted his teeth and Parvati scowled and hissed to the blond

"Maybe it's you the one that needs better company Malfoy. I'd been told that your partner for tonight is not up to your standards, and definitely not one to be seen among decent company."

"Do you think so? Well, I wonder what my partner would think about that."

As in cue, the bathroom door opened and the girls came out, Blaise waved his hands in a mocking 'finally' gesture and Alice punched him in the arm, behind her came Artemisa and the Slytherin sixth year prefect, Lilith Agracon, and last Goyle's Hufflepuff friend, Rhina. Parvati narrowed her eyes when Artemisa stopped beside Draco and nodded to her in greeting.

"Good night Patil."

"You're Nochland right? Zelman's big sister."

Artemisa nodded again, her brother was a Gryffindor second year and had already told her all the gossip that went around in the tower. Parvati looked at her critically for a moment.

"So, you're Malfoy's partner for the night?"

Nochland scowled, she didn't like Parvati's scrutiny, she wasn't used to people judging her choice in partners.

"I wanted to have an enjoyable evening."

"We all want it dear, well Malfoy, maybe there is still hope for you."

"You really think so? How nice." Malfoy really wanted to tell Parvati to mind her own business, but he consoled himself imagining her face when she saw his true partner, Nochland sighed and got a pillbox out of her purse, the Gryffindor girl eyed it curiously.

"Jelly beans Nochland?"

"Um? Oh, yes. Mint flavored ones" she said while eating one of them, "I'm a fanatic. Do you want some?"

"Well, thank you." The girl took a jelly bean and ate it, then she turned to leave. "See you later Malfoy, she's not so bad, you'll be better with her."

Thorney followed the girl after glare at Malfoy one more time; the blond Slytherin smirked at them and watched them go, once they were out of sight he got out a little vial from his robes.

"Take this Nochland; I don't want you to get sick in the middle of the Great Hall."

"You never told me what you put on the jelly beans Malfoy." She said, taking the antidote the boy was offering in one gulp.

"Something nasty that you really don't want to know. Don't forget to get rid of that pillbox later. We were fortunate that she accepted it at once, now we don't have to spike her drink."

"Well, can we go already? I want to pick a good table."

"As if you were planning to be there for long Blaise!"

The slytherins smirked at Alice's embarrassed face and the group started to walk.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The Great Hall was full of light and adorned with spring motives, there were round tables and chairs, and the dance floor in the center of the Hall. Draco was strongly reminded of their fourth year and shuddered inwardly remembering that he had have to dance with Pansy in that occasion. He scanned the Hall, giving a critical look to all the people that were already there, some students were sitting with their parents but the majority was in separate tables with their friends, there was not music yet so all that was heard was loud chatting.

Draco spotted Hermione and Potter in one of the tables near the band, surrounded by quite a lot of people that were obviously making them uncomfortable; the blond smirked noticing the bouquet in front of the Gryffindor girl and the blush on Potter's face as he undoubtedly was being teased by their schoolmates. The Slytherins and their partners took a table from where they could see everyone in the Hall, they heard some students commenting on the way Potter and Granger cheated Weasley and Draco fought the urge to huff in annoyance, they took their seats and immediately bouquets of flowers appeared in front of the girls, that was something prepared by Dumbledore, the boys only had to bring the flowers to the house-elves and tell them who they were for, and the dutiful creatures did the rest; Draco was pleased to see that Potter had been able to find orchids, Nochland was very happy with her bouquet.

"I bet that you told him that I like orchids Malfoy."

"And why would I do that? Your affairs with Potter are nothing of my concern."

"True, but I'm certain that it wasn't me the one telling him about the orchids, and since you want me to be pleased and romantic this night, so Harry would leave you and your girl alone, well, I'm really impressed."

"Why?"

"Because normally you'll bribe me directly, lately I have the impression that you're different somehow."

"Could be."

Draco turned to the table where Hermione was presently inhaling the scent of the Jasmines and blue Hyacinths of her bouquet and regretted not having been there earlier to see the Gryffindors' faces when the flowers appeared, especially when Potter had realized that they were common for a proposal, he could see that the black-haired boy was still fighting the urge to yell to somebody.

Suddenly Dumbledore's voice was heard over the chattering and everybody fell silent, the Headmaster greeted the assembly and thanked the parents and ministry officials for their attendance, he said a few words of encouragement for the difficult times that were ahead of them and emphasized the necessity to remain united and strong against the adversities. Once his little speech was over, he invited the first two couples to open the dance. Potter and Granger immediately stood up and both walked to the center of the Hall, Draco took a few seconds to look at Hermione, she was wearing a midnight blue gown with a V-neck, and a white pendant in the form of a drop with matching earrings, her hair was held in a stylized bun with a few strands loose, her make up was not exaggerated and her eyes were shinning with anticipation. She was perfect. Potter had his arm around her waist and Draco glared intently at him until he took it off, then the blond smiled and offered his hand to Artemisa.

"Come on Nochland. It's show time."

* * *

Hermione was really nervous; when Dumbledore announced that there would be two couples opening the dance she had felt her cheeks burning and Harry was not any better, the boy hated attention, it was not any help the fact that Draco's flowers had been meant for a proposal, all the students that had been near them at the moment the bouquet appeared had gasped in shock, they had received many disapproving glares and most of the Gryffindors had been torn between congratulate them or commiserate Ginny, who had burst in tears the moment she had seen the jasmines and the ivy with which the bouquet was adorned. 

The Gryffindor Head girl stood in shaking legs when the Headmaster invited Potter and his partner to the dance floor, she and Harry walked side by side to the center of the Hall, no one was surprised, all the students and their parents were expecting Harry Potter to open the dance, there was some hissed comments when Draco and Artemisa stood to join them, but even that was kind of expected after all the efforts for uniting the houses and Ron's previous outburst and attack, claiming that Malfoy was to take Hermione to the ball; what was not expected was the way the two couples were standing, Hermione was facing Draco and Harry was facing Artemisa, barely a step away from each others, and were not getting ready to start dancing.

Hermione smiled when the muttering and hissed questions started, then she heard the band giving the signal to start and Draco made a reverence which she answered, after that the blond Slytherin advanced a step and took her in his arms at the same time that the music began, they started dancing a waltz hearing only the music, because everyone was shocked into silence.

Though Hermione was deliriously happy and her eyes were focused on Draco's, she was aware of Harry and Artemisa dancing a few meters from them, they enjoyed a full five minutes of quiet before indignant and surprised whispering started, Hermione saw a flash or two and smiled, thinking that Creevey should be having the time of his life with his new wizarding camera. The waltz finished and Draco looked around him, smirking at the astounded faces that surrounded them and tightened his embrace.

"What do you say love? Do you want to confirm their fears? I don't think that the news had completely gotten through their skulls yet."

Hermione turned a little to look at the staff's table and remembered McGonagall's words.

"Well, we can't have that now, do we?"

They leaned into each other and kissed passionately, Hermione was so happy that she didn't even notice the flash of the camera being shot repeatedly, they ended the kiss just in time to hear the Headmaster cheerfully inviting everyone to join the dance as the band started to play again, Draco took his girlfriend to his table and from there they watched as a girl suddenly stood up from one of the tables and ran out of the Great Hall, crying loudly, Hermione recognized Febe Shatkins and blushed a little, that event seemed to get the rest of the students out of their stupor and many stood and started dancing in the middle of furious gossip, the Slytherins were among the firsts to recover and they threw significant glances at Malfoy in their way to the dance floor, though no one seemed really surprised, Hermione couldn't tell if they were expecting this outcome or if they were pretty talented at hiding their thoughts.

"Your housemates don't seem too shocked."

"Well, they're Slytherins after all."

Hermione giggled and looked to the dance floor. Harry was starting to guide Nochland to the table he had picked earlier, but midway there he seemed to think better of it and they ended up joining Hermione and Draco.

"Well, it wasn't so bad." Said Harry, taking a seat, Draco wasn't so happy to have them in the same table.

"You can say that Potter, but do try to keep your hands to yourself or on _your_ girl in the future."

Harry blinked twice and then huffed irritably.

"Oh no, I have had enough of this with Ron already! Hermione! Why do you have to pick the ones that are insanely overprotective and territorial?!"

"Don't you dare compare me with the weasel Potter!"

The girls giggled and Malfoy hugged Hermione, Artemisa and Harry started to have a nice conversation with a lot of hushed words and blushing on the dark-haired boy's part, soon Draco rolled his eyes at how mellow Potter was behaving.

* * *

Time passed by without complications, and Hermione stubbornly refused to feel alarmed by the lack of protests about them, she and Malfoy danced and talked as if the entire school were not staring, once in a while someone started to approach them, stopped a few steps from their table and seemed to think things better, then turned away without bothering them; the girl thought it strange but decided to simply ignore it and enjoy the evening with her boyfriend. 

At some time, while Harry and Artemisa were dancing, Draco guided Hermione towards a big window that had been bewitched to show a beautiful Japanese garden at sunset; the girl was carrying her bouquet of flowers that Luna had retrieved for her, and Malfoy carefully arranged them on her hair.

"That's it, you look wonderful."

"Oh, thank you my gentleman. I'm quite surprised that we had had a very quiet evening; I was expecting at least someone to try to ruin it. So far only Febe has made a show, and she only ran away from the Hall."

"I'm sure that Dumbledore must have done something to keep everyone in line, you never know with a meddling man like him."

"Draco, don't be nasty."

"I'm not, I only tell the truth. Let's forget about the old man, I'm really pleased to finally have the world know that you are mine."

Draco embraced the Gryffindor girl and lost himself in her lips once more, oblivious to the world around them.

On the other side of the Hall, Ginny was observing the couple with a look of disgust on her face; Parvati and Padma were beside her.

"Look at them; they have the guts to kiss in public. I'm surprised that Harry covered them. I'm sorry for your brother Ginny; no one would blame you if you want to put Granger in her place."

Ginny huffed and lifted her chin in despise.

"She can go and kiss You-Know-Who for all I care. My brother would be better off without her after all; though I really don't know what Malfoy sees in her, she's a pain in the ass, and she's getting fat."

"Fat?" asked Padma, narrowing her eyes at the kissing couple, she wouldn't consider Granger 'fat'.

"She's using a glamour to hide it, but I have seen her without the school robes and I can tell that she's gaining weight. I'm really surprised; I was under the impression that a Malfoy would have finer taste."

Just as the three girls were looking at the couple, Malfoy took something out of his robes and Hermione's eyes visibly widened in disbelief as the boy took her hand and put a ring on one of her fingers. The Gryffindor girl smiled brightly and practically clung from Malfoy's neck. The girls gasped in shock, along with a few other students that were closely following the scene. Ginny stood up and walked away in a hurry, Padma watched her go with a scowl on her forehead.

"I thought that she could be more useful, after all her brother is the loosing part here."

"Ha! She's more interested in whether or not she'll have another chance with Potter; I bet that she feels relieved that there was nothing between Granger and wonder-boy after all! Unfortunately for her, it seems that Nochland has already beaten her. But that is not important now, Malfoy has betrayed us beyond doubt, he has to be stopped!"

"But Parvati, professor Snape told us to be quiet! And we had already told him our suspicions…"

"I don't care! Surely he didn't think it was serious, who would? But Malfoy had sent her the flowers and had given her his ring! He had fucking proposed to a mudblood in our faces! I won't tolerate it!"

Padma looked uncertainly at her sister, not sure if it would be a good idea to go against Snape's orders, but then she noticed that her twin didn't seem so well, her skin was flushed as if she had a fever and her lips had a greenish color.

"Parvati, are you alright?"

"Of course I am! Come on! I'm going to show them what happens when you betray the Dark Lord!"

The couple was no longer in front of the window, they were happily dancing in each others arms, Padma looked at her sister as she gave a few steps towards her objective, swayed and stopped as if trying to regain equilibrium, then she practically collapsed on a nearby chair. Padma hurried up to help.

Hermione was really happy ignoring the world around her and feeling Draco's heartbeat under her cheek as they danced, she only got alarmed when she caught sight of Parvati looking murderously at them.

"Draco, I think Parvati is not too happy."

"Yes? Well, too bad for her, I'm perfectly content right now."

"She's coming Draco." Hermione said urgently, the Slytherin boy turned his head and smiled when he saw the potentially dangerous girl slump into a chair.

"What's happening?" asked a surprised Hermione.

"It seems that my little pill is taking effect. Don't worry about her love."

"A pill? Draco what did you do?"

"It's nothing serious, just to show them that no one messes with my fiancé and to remind them who's Draco Malfoy."

Hermione watched as Parvati threw up and then how some Ravenclaws carried the almost unconscious girl out of the Great Hall.

"You're not going to get in troubles for this?"

"There's nothing to prove that I had anything to do with Patil's sickness. And just in case that they want to try something stupid I'll be on guard, besides, with so many people in the castle it would be difficult to surprise us, we only have to be careful."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course I'm right. Now stop worrying about that bunch of losers and think only about us."

Malfoy tightened his embrace and started to nib at her ear, Hermione moaned and relaxed completely into her boyfriend's arms, after a while, Draco was kissing her again.

"How about we take this to some place more private love?"

"It sounds great."

Malfoy smirked and started towards the doors, hand in hand with Hermione, they left the ball together, leaving the rest of the school to their gossip.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The next day, Hermione and Draco turned out in the Great Hall until lunch, as the morning classes had been canceled the blond boy hadn't seen the necessity to get up early. The Slytherin was not surprised to see that everyone turned their attention to them the moment they entered the Hall, what surprised him was to see that some of the students were in the wrong tables. Blaise was having lunch with the Ravenclaws, and Goyle was with the Hufflepuffs, two first years ravens were at the Slytherin table, along with a Hufflepuff girl that was comfortably talking with Millicent, a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were at the Gryffindors' and some of the lions were scattered in the rest of the tables; Draco was mildly amused to see Potter with the Slytherins and guided Hermione there to take their seats, the boy-who-lived scowled at them.

"Where have you been? It's late!"

"It doesn't concern you Potter, stop playing mother hen."

Harry huffed indignantly and returned to his lunch, Hermione elbowed at Malfoy for being so rude and proceeded to select her food, another Slytherin handed a Prophet to Draco.

"Look Malfoy, you missed your appearance in the front page."

Draco looked at the paper and smiled, he and Hermione were kissing in the front page, along with Potter and Nochland.

"Seems that I can't get you out of the newspaper Potter."

Harry threw the paper a nasty look while Draco started reading. Thankfully the article wasn't written by that annoying Rita Skeeter, the author was a reporter of the social section that surely had seen the opportunity of her life, it was very rare that a social event made it to the front page. Draco smiled when he read some comments from students wondering whether he and Potter were under the influence of a love potion; there was a smaller picture of him giving his ring to Hermione. Well, now the entire wizarding world knew that he was going to marry. He turned to his fiancé who was eating normal food for a change.

"Do you want to read it?"

"Later, thanks. I'm really hungry."

"I wonder who took the pictures; I don't remember any one from the press."

"That was one of the Creevey brothers." Said Harry. "Hermione made sure that he carried his new camera."

"Oh."

"Harry" Hermione leaned over the table to see her friend "I'm curious, why you and Artemisa didn't seat with the Gryffindors? that would have been nice."

"I tried, but Ginny looked murderous and ready to cause troubles, so I preferred to avoid her."

Draco looked at the Gryffindor table and noticed the female weasel glaring at them, he couldn't suppress a smirk.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Severus Snape was reading a good book in his headquarters while taking a brandy in front of the fire, he was waiting, hoping that it wouldn't be the Dark Lord the one who called; he almost sighed in relief when Lucius Malfoy's head appeared in his fireplace looking very mad.

"SNAPE!!! WHAT IN HELL IS THIS?!!"

The potions master knew that Malfoy wanted to throw the Daily Prophet to his face and tiredly turned towards the outraged blond.

"Why Lucius? I would have thought that you could distinguish a paper."

"DON'T PLAY SMART WITH ME SNAPE!!!! WHERE IS THAT FOOLISH, UNGRATEFUL SPAWN THAT I CALL SON?!! BRING HIM TO ME THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Now, who's the foolish one here? If you think that I would risk my position by letting you talk to your imbecile child in my chambers you have another thing coming Malfoy!!" Snape hissed nastily, Malfoy went red and started shouting insults that the potions master listened with amusement; it was not every day that you see the head of the Malfoy family completely lost his composture.

"You can shout all you want Malfoy, your son is not entering my chambers any time soon! I don't want him around me too much! He's lost now!"

"You are the one who lost him Snape!! You were supposed to be tutoring him!! Wait 'till I have my hands on you, you treacherous bastard!! You better have him out of that castle before the Dark Lord strikes because I'm going to kill him myself!!"

Lucius' head disappeared and Snape smirked evilly at the fire. Well that wasn't so bad, he was more preoccupied with what the Dark Lord would have to say, the potions master had no illusions of the madman letting this little show go easily. He sighed in resignation and continued his reading.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

All in all, the atmosphere in the castle improved, the aurors could bee seen chatting animatedly from time to time, and the parents were visibly more at ease with each others, there was only a small group of students that wasn't satisfied with the state of things. This small group was reunited on Tuesday night in an abandoned classroom, complaining about Snape's orders to stay quiet. Parvati was the most furious.

"I can't believe this! He had the guts to rub in our faces that he has betrayed the Dark Lord and sent me to the Hospital wing for mild poisoning! And we can't do anything to get back at him?!! Why in hell no one attempted to do something at the ball?!!"

"They had a powerful protection charm around them, many people did try to get close, but somehow you just got this crazy idea that it would be wise and safer if you kept your distance."

"Yeah, the only ones that seemed unaffected by that were Potter and that Slytherin bitch."

"Nochland is going to be very sorry for this! Anthera, why didn't you warn me about the jelly beans?!"

"I told you that Malfoy wanted revenge, and I remember telling you to be careful with what his friends might offer you."

"She did tell you Patil"

"She took one too! I waited until she swallowed the dammed candy!"

"There is such a thing as an antidote, you know?"

"Don't talk to me like that Alice!"

"Calm down Parvati." Said Thorney, trying to get hold of the situation. "It's no use to fight. We can't do anything anyway, Snape told us not to, besides, the Dark Lord would be attacking soon."

"That's a relief but in the meantime we shouldn't let this go! I hate to think that Malfoy is laughing at us!"

"And what do you propose to do?"

"We need to teach them a lesson!"

"But Parvati, we could get into trouble."

"We are not going to use the masks this time; we're only going to be students fighting for a difference of opinion."

The rest of the youngsters stared at the girl for a moment.

"Fighting?"

"I don't know Patil, aren't you taking this too far? They're going to be dead anyway when the Dark Lord attacks."

Parvati seemed thoughtful, suddenly one of the girls commented.

"Have you noticed that Granger is eating the most hideous things lately?"

"Well, that could be because of the cravings, she's pregnant after all."

Everyone turned to look dumbfounded at Alice, the girl raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"How do you know that?"

"One of my Slytherin friends told me. And is really obvious if you think about it, she dropped Quidditch with the Headmaster's allowance and she has cravings."

"Yeah, she has been too careful around potions too, and Weasley said that she was getting fat…"

Suddenly Parvati was livid; she hit a desk hard with her fist, making everyone jump.

"That sets this. We're going to make him regret his choice now; I won't wait until the Dark Lord destroys this castle!!"

Padma, Thorney and a few others tried to dissuade her, but the girl was relentless, so they finally agreed to help with her plan.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Blue Hyacinth: constancy

Indian jasmine: "I attach myself to you"

Ivy: fidelity, marriage.

Found at: http://marriage.


	25. Trapped

Disclaimer for Harry Potter on the first chapter.

**Author's note:** Hi! Sorry about the long time between updates, it's really hard to keep writing, especially when you have a boss that thinks about work 100 of the time, anyway, thank you for your continued reviews, and to all of you that are still reading.

**Chapter 25.** **Trapped**

On Thursday night it was Draco and Hermione's turn to patrol the halls, though the blond thought that it was a waste of time, they had aurors now, why the students should keep patrolling? However he was most intrigued with the peculiar map that Hermione was showing him, the girl had intended to give it back to Harry, but now that Draco had seen it there was no way he'll let it go, at least not until he had gotten enough blackmail material to make it worth it or they were definitely out of Hogwarts, after all the map was only useful if you were in the castle. He had immediately point out all the hidden passages that could be useful as escape routes and memorized their location.

At the moment he was busy following the advance of two dots that were slowly making their way to the dungeons, Draco noticed that the dot labeled 'Harry Potter' was closer than necessary to the dot labeled 'Artemisa Nochland'.

"We shouldn't be spying on them Draco."

"Please, don't tell me that Potter wouldn't do it if given the chance, besides, I'm only making sure that they are getting along nicely." Malfoy smirked at his girlfriend and the girl rolled her eyes at him but say nothing more.

They were close to the astronomy tower and it was almost time to return to their respective houses, when Malfoy's eyes suddenly looked over to the main reason of why Hermione had brought the map in the first place, a group of dots had been following them for some time, the group had divided and now three dots were behind them while two more were a few meters ahead on the corridor. Draco's mouth twitched in a despising gesture. They wanted to play? Well, he was ready for them. Malfoy took out his wand and signaled to Hermione to be ready, he was surprised at Patil's tenacity, if he hadn't been expecting this attack they would have been in serious troubles, he quickly scanned the map to see who were nearby. There were no aurors on their floor and Dumbledore was in his office with Remus Lupin, but professors McGonagall and Snape were barely two corridors away, if they made enough noise they would attract attention, he did the spell to hide the map and rolled the parchment.

"I'll turn around and you take care of the two that are in front. Protection first, then we duck and do 'expelliarmus', we have to be fast and move to that statue, it should give us enough cover ok?"

"Ok."

"Ready? Now!"

Draco swirled and cast a protection spell just in time to see the sparks of an hex flying everywhere, they moved quickly and got to the statue safely, firing hexes and curses, they made some portraits fell and the head of the statue where they were hiding exploded, Malfoy felt something hit him and sudden pain in his left arm a second before professor Snape's voice thundered in the corridor.

"What is happening here?!!!"

"Children!! Stop this instant!!"

Everyone stood frozen in place while McGonagall enervated two Ravenclaws and professor Snape advanced on them, glaring at the blood on Draco's arm.

"It's nothing, just a cut."

"Well, maybe someone can explain what the meaning of this chaos is?!"

"They attacked us professor!" someone shout, Draco turned to see Patrick Thorney and sneered.

"Oh yes, and I suppose that's why WE are the ones hiding behind a fucking statue!"

"Mr. Malfoy, watch your mouth! Miss Granger, I expect you to tell us exactly what happened."

McGonagall was not happy, everyone could see that she was more inclined to believe that Malfoy was to blame for this, professor Snape narrowed his eyes in annoyance and Draco crossed his arms, wincing at the pain on his left one, maybe it wasn't just a cut, but he refused to acknowledge it and bit his lip while Hermione explained what had happened, trying to make it clear that she and Malfoy were the ones who were attacked for no reason, Parvati huffed at that and almost yelled.

"Don't cover Malfoy just because he's your boyfriend! We saw him trying to hurt you!"

"Don't be ridiculous Patil! Why would I do that?!"

"Well, after you got her pregnant, Malfoy, surely you feel like you can do everything you want to her!"

"WHAT?!!!"

Malfoy may have hexed Parvati into oblivion if he hadn't been amused by McGonagall's face at the moment, Hermione just gaped at her housemate for a moment and then turned worried eyes to her Head of House, who looked like she would drop dead at any instant, the elder witch didn't seem to realize that she was the only one surprised by the news.

"W-what… how…?"

Malfoy pressed his lips together to stay silent, he was very aware that teasing would only make things worse. Snape rolled his eyes and turned over to the stuttering professor.

"Minerva, I think you need to go see the Headmaster now."

The witch looked at him with unfocused eyes, for a moment the potions master was really worried.

"He… he-he knows? I-I can't believe he…"

"Now Minerva, I don't want to deal with you in this state. You go with the old man, he'll give you tea and those awful candies and you'll feel much better. I'll take care of this, now go!"

McGonagall breathed heavily and walked away. As soon as she disappeared Malfoy had his wand up again and pointing towards Parvati, however his godfather was faster and soon had the boy's wand in his hand.

"Mr. Malfoy, what do you think you're doing?!"

"I was only going to give her a few more appendages."

"Bad luck Malfoy" Parvati raised her wand, but Snape disposed of it with a move.

"All of you will stop this nonsense at once! Mr. Malfoy, take your troublesome fiancé back to her tower and then go to the hospital wing."

"It's nothing."

"Now Mr. Malfoy!"

Draco took his wand and grudgingly walked away with Hermione, Snape barely waited for them to be out of hearing range before he started with the rest of the students.

"And you. Exactly which part of '_don't do anything'_ is not clear?"

"But professor, I swear she's pregnant!"

"And do you think I don't know girl? That's the reason why young Mr. Malfoy is a lost cause!"

"But we should do something!"

"Miss Patil, I understand you're distraught, I know you used to be quite intimate with Mr. Malfoy, but you are not going to do anything! The Dark Lord wants everyone inside this castle relaxed and thinking that they are safe, so you are going to follow his instructions and not raise suspicions from the old Headmaster. Are we clear now?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, and not a word about this to anyone, understood?"

"Yes sir."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Of course the next day the entire school knew that Hermione was pregnant, and the girl had a hard time trying to get Harry to understand that Malfoy hadn't done it on purpose and that she had wanted it and was perfectly fine with it; she did hex Parvati's seat during breakfast, so the girl had to get out of there quickly due to uncomfortable itching.

The rest of the students seemed happy to have more gossip to entertain themselves and forget about wars and murderous Dark Lords trying to dominate the world, so they started to invent the most dramatic situations, from Malfoy planning to stole the child as soon as it was born to Hermione using it to keep the blond Slytherin at her side, along with some tales about Nochland being pregnant too and Harry hiding it. The Slytherins seemed pretty amused by all the gossip and Hermione only tried to ignore it, but Harry was frustrated, unhappy and he wanted to yell at the top of his lungs for everybody to shut up.

Draco took the chance to go with Hermione everywhere between classes and made sure no one tried to approach her, the girl smiled at the show of possessiveness and accepted it happily, mainly because she had to go with Madam Pomfrey for a check up and didn't want to be alone with the mediwitch, it was bad enough that McGonagall seemed at the verge of tears each time she saw Hermione.

The couple went to the Hospital Wing before dinner and Madam Pomfrey scowled at the prospect of having Draco present during the check, she tried to make the blond wait outside but he pointed out that as Hermione's future husband and father of the child he had the right to be with her at all times. The mediwitch was actually impressed at his determination and proceeded to attend Hermione without further comments, the girl was eternally grateful for that.

Both mother and child were healthy and the baby was developing as it should, besides, there was the signature of very powerful magic protecting them, Madam Pomfrey was certain that they would be fine and should have no problems, the mediwitch did a special spell to know the sex of the baby right away, Hermione was delighted, if they were at a muggle hospital there would be no way for them to know the sex of her child yet, it was a boy and the girl clapped her hands in delight, Draco was proud of it and gave a peek to his fiancé, Madam Pomfrey watched the interaction seriously but continued silent.

Finally, when they were about to go, the mediwitch commented.

"Ronald Weasley has woken up Miss Granger; I think that you should know."

Hermione stopped and bit her lower lip, turning to look at the mediwitch; Draco narrowed his eyes and sneered nastily. The girl looked uncomfortable but answered nonetheless.

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey, Harry told me yesterday night. I'm glad that he's recovering."

"He had asked for you, he doesn't remember what happened, and I think he deserves an explanation."

"I'm sure that Harry told him that I'm fine and that he would explain things to Ron."

"And don't you want to see him? He's your friend after all."

Draco almost huffed at the statement, he didn't like the idea of Hermione getting anywhere near Ronald Weasley, but the mediwitch had a point, he was, or had been, her friend and if she wanted to see him it was her decision to make, he suppressed his annoyance the best he could and held Hermione's hand tightly, the girl smiled weakly at him and returned to see Madam Pomfrey.

"I know he's my friend, but I really don't want to see him right now, maybe some other time."

"Don't you think it would be best if you do it now?"

Well, that was enough, Hermione had said that she didn't want to see the weasel and that was all Malfoy needed to step into the conversation.

"Hermione doesn't owe anything to Weasley, and she doesn't have to see him if she doesn't want to, I really think it would be best if she stays as far away from him as possible."

The mediwitch frowned at the boy and answered.

"Mr. Malfoy, I really think that Mr. Weasley had been a good friend and that you should understand that he was not himself when he attacked you, he and Miss Granger had been pretty close all this years."

"Well, that's over now, she doesn't want to see him, and someone should tell him that Hermione is my girl now, and I don't want him pestering her anymore!"

Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows at the boy's audacity and huffed.

"My Goodness, until now I really didn't have the chance to compare you both, I have always thought that the Weasleys and the Malfoys were so different from each others, but I'm really surprised at the similarities."

Draco gaped at the mediwitch's words while Hermione covered her mouth with her hand in an effort to hide her giggles. Madam Pomfrey sighed and dismissed them.

"Wait! What do you mean 'similarities'?"

Hermione pulled her shocked boyfriend to the exit, the blond tried to compose himself without really succeeding.

"Did she just compare me with Weasley? What the hell is she thinking?!"

"Come on love, don't fret."

"I'm not fretting!"

They got out of the Hospital Wing, Malfoy still fuming.

"I can't believe it! I have no similarities with that bastard!"

"Of course not love, you're nothing like him."

"Are you humoring me?"

"No Draco." Hermione stopped and kissed her boyfriend, trying to make him relax, the boy huffed in annoyance and both continued their way.

"Stupid witch."

Hermione smiled and let the subject drop, they walked to the Great Hall in relative silence but once there Draco froze, his face darkened a little and Hermione scanned the staff table worriedly to see what had affected Malfoy. Professor Snape was absent again.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Malfoy sat cross legged on his bed with the Marauder's map in front of him, he was looking for his godfather, hopping that the man simply hadn't been in the mood for dinner, but he couldn't find him in the entire castle, that couldn't be good news. He sighed as his eyes scanned the map, noticing that Potter and Artemisa were busy in the Astronomy tower, and then he scowled at two dots that were entering a special room in the dungeons. He made a mental note to take Blaise's key away; his godfather had given it to him for his personal use, not for others to take advantage of it. Blaise could very well take his girl to the room of requirement!

He glared at the map until Blaise's and Alice's dots started to merge a little, then he blushed and made the map disappear, he felt uncomfortable spying on Blaise's sexual life, even if it was just seeing dots. He tucked the now empty parchment away; he was going to give it to Hermione the next day for her to have one more advantage. He went to sleep still thinking about what his godfather could be doing.

* * *

Draco woke up in the middle of the night sensing magic around him, and frowned recognizing a spell his father used when he wanted to send him something without using the owls, he sat on the bed, making the thing that was on his chest to fell, he grimaced and took the piece of parchment after making sure that it was not a portkey or any other thing equally dangerous. He recognized his father's writing at once and scowled at the words. 

'_It's your last chance Draco, come here this instant or you'll be dead by Monday. Look out the window.'_

"Great. I'm in a fucking dungeon! How am I supposed to look out the window?!"

The dungeons didn't have windows, only enchanted images of them during daytime, at night the only way to look out to the castle's grounds was from the upper floors, Draco considered to just ignore the missive and get back to sleep, but curiosity got the better of him and he dressed quickly.

He wandered through empty corridors, making his way to the astronomy tower, thinking that he could get a better view from there. He was near the last set of stairs, just walking by a big window when he saw it. He stopped in the spot and breathed heavily in shock, it was not possible; the dark mark was in the sky, just above a brilliant reflection that surely was from a big fire, it took Draco some minutes to realize that Hogsmeade was lying that way.

He was still staring at the dark mark when he heard someone calling him.

"Malfoy! What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

He turned around to see Potter and Nochland coming down from the Astronomy tower, both of them looked scared, surely they had had a better look form up there.

"What do you think Potter? Enjoying the view."

He must have looked a bit perturbed because all the reaction he got was both students turning around to look out the window, after a short while Potter asked.

"How did you know?"

"Oh, my father had the grace to inform me."

Malfoy extended the note to the Gryffindor boy and Harry scowled upon reading it, a look of determination suddenly set in his face.

"'Misa, would you return with Malfoy to the dungeons? I have to see the Headmaster"

"Sure"

Malfoy raised his eyebrow but didn't say a thing, he and Nochland started their way down to the dungeons while Harry ran to the Headmaster's office.

"Someone should tell him that it's the middle of the night and the Headmaster is probably in his bedroom."

"Don't waste your breath, you know how Gryffindors are."

When they were near the main hall they heard a lot of noise from the entrance and walked that way to see what was happening, both Slytherins gasped in surprise when they saw what seemed Hogsmeade's entire population entering the castle in a hurry, many looked terrified and the children were crying, some were injured and the aurors were trying to move them away from danger of being crushed, professors McGonagall and Flitwick were trying to put some semblance of order and calm down some of the most hysteric persons.

Malfoy and Nochland stared petrified for some while, unsure of what to do, they didn't know if they could be of any help, the aurors kept bringing injured people and soon the main hall was not enough to keep them, Nochland grimaced at the sight of a child that was practically covered in blood and whose legs were twisted painfully.

"I don't want to see this Malfoy, let's return to the dungeons."

"Yes, let's go."

They continued their way, trying very hard to ignore the crying and desperate sounds that seemed to echo in the halls.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The next day Hermione had breakfast with her mother, Mrs. Granger was now lucid the majority of the time and had started to ask questions, she had recovered quickly and had not needed the special potion that Hermione's group had brewed, which had been an advantage because now there were many more patients in great need of it. Even some of St. Mungo's mediwizards had taken residence in the castle to help with the injured villagers of Hogsmeade.

Hermione had the impression of being in a refugee's camp, the castle was big but it was starting to be crowded with all the people that presently inhabited it. It was rather depressing. The majority of the students weren't sure of what happened. Some Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had seen the dark mark hovering over Hogsmeade in the early morning and had panicked immediately, some parents had visited the common rooms to make sure that their children were still there and the atmosphere seemed to get heavy with fear. It had not helped in the last to realize that all Hogsmeade inhabitants had arrived over night and were staying in the castle. It was impossible to walk along a corridor without stumbling into someone who was clearly terrified or crying or simply depressed.

Hermione hadn't wanted to be at the Great Hall and Malfoy had accompanied her to the Hospital Wing, but he had stopped at the entrance and had looked unsure, it had been clear that he didn't want to enter, Hermione knew that Draco was scared and trying to hide it, she couldn't blame him, after all it was one thing to know that there was war and that someone was being attacked or killed, and it was another thing to have the attack happening next door and actually see the victims running away, trying to save themselves. Hermione had told Malfoy that she wanted to have some time alone with her mother and the boy had promised to return for her later.

The girl sighed, she would have liked to be with Draco, but shrugged the feeling of loss away and looked to her mother, who was asking her about the boy that had accompanied her on other occasions, Hermione smiled and started to tell Mrs. Granger about Draco and their plans together.

Malfoy was upset and angry with himself, he should have stayed with Hermione, no matter that the Hospital Wing would surely be full of injured men and women, at least it should be quiet in there. Draco grimaced at the crowded Great Hall, where the majority of the people were crying or staring into space instead of eating. He wasn't hungry anymore, he felt rather sick, he should be stronger, when the Death Eaters finally attacked them he would have to fight, he couldn't afford being scared, he was supposed to protect Hermione and the baby and he wouldn't let them down.

Draco looked around him to the fearful faces of his classmates, many parents were sitting with their sons and daughters, and it didn't matter anymore in which table you were seated. Goyle was at his right side, talking quietly with Millicent and a Hufflepuff, to his left were Blaise and Alice; Neville, Potter and Nochland were in front of him, with grim faces.

Malfoy poked his food and tried very hard to forget where he was, an owl had left the Daily Prophet beside his plate but he really didn't want to read it, what he had seen at night had been enough. Unfortunately, Blaise had decided to read aloud and Draco was wishing his friend would shut up; he didn't need to know that the wizarding world was intrigued as to why the Death Eaters had attacked like they used to do before and had not used their new "weapon". The blond Slytherin huffed in annoyance. Of course they wouldn't waste energy in the town; they were saving the special attack for the castle! And it was no wonder that no one had been able to track the Dark Lord, all ministry officials were a bunch of idiots!

Dumbledore was giving a speech again, saying something about not loosing hope and assuring everyone about the safety of the castle, Draco could say that the majority was trying to believe him, but a few were not buying it, he expected that some of the parents would want to leave, hell, he'll like to leave too, he wanted to disappear and never return, but he had promised to stay with Hermione, and no one was going to have any reason to say that he was a coward.

Blaise had fell silent at last, Malfoy had feared that the boy could feel compelled to read the victim's list aloud, it was not a large list, thankfully the aurors had been able to arrive quickly and put on a fight, but they couldn't save Hogsmeade as practically the entire town was reduced to ashes.

Potter finished his breakfast and excused himself saying that he was going to the Hospital Wing, he gave Nochland a quick kiss of goodbye and promised to see her later, Malfoy still poked at his food for a while and when he finally decided to go look for Hermione he heard Goyle gasp and felt him went still, the blond turned to see the big boy shaking and biting his lip.

"Greg, what happened?"

"No-nothing. It's nothing."

Goyle stood up and half covered his face with his hand while he walked out of the Great Hall. Malfoy watched him go and curiously took the forgotten paper to see what his friend had been reading. His eyes scanned quickly the victim's list until he found it, he felt shocked for a moment and then let out his breath in a frustrated groan. Vincent Crabbe was dead.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Hermione left her mother's side promising to return before dinner, she was happy that Mrs. Granger was more alert and didn't sleep so much anymore, the girl figured she could convince Draco to accompany her later, so her mother could have a better look at him, maybe she'll tell her about the baby soon.

The Gryffindor girl was walking through the hospital wing trying to not pay much attention to the large number of beds that were occupied, when she saw Harry and Ginny outside the door of one of the private rooms, she supposed it was Ron's and grimaced, intending to pass them by and not stopping, however she couldn't avoid hearing their argument.

"How you dare call yourself his friend Harry?! As far as I'm concerned you have betrayed us! You and that bossy friend of yours had betrayed our House principles!"

"Ginny that's insane! Would you please forget about the stupid House rivalry? This is serious!"

"I'm sorry I can't forget how your precious serpents treat us! And I know very well that just because we need them you don't have to act too friendly with them! Much less go out with them!"

"Ginny please!"

"Don't 'please' me Harry; you can go with your Slytherin slut!"

"Don't call her that!"

"She is! And she will grow tired of you and would dump you! Then you're going to see that I am right and you would come apologizing! Until then I don't want you visiting my brother!"

Ginny entered the room and slammed the door in Harry's face, Hermione felt bad for him and walked to his side.

"I'm sorry Harry"

"Don't worry Herm. It's not your fault." He sighed tiredly and looked at the door one more time before turning away. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'll see him later."

"You haven't told him about 'Misa?"

"No, I didn't want to get him angry, but I'm starting to ask myself why I even bother."

They got out of the Hospital wing to find Malfoy walking through the corridor towards them; Harry left the couple alone and went to find his girlfriend.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

They supposed that Quidditch would be canceled as the students were not really in the mood to have fun, so Malfoy was really surprised when some people showed up in the Quidditch pitch, some of them just had went to see, to get out of the castle for a while.

Draco organized two teams and set up for refereeing a game while Hermione headed to take a seat on the stands, she wished she had brought a book with her, it would be boring to just sat there watching the others play, but as soon as she was seated three girls approached her.

"Hello Granger, do you mind?"

"Hi Alice, hi 'Misa, you're welcome."

"You already know Lilith don't you?"

"Sure, hi Lilith."

The girls took a seat, Nochland and Anthera at both sides of Hermione, and Agracon at Alice's other side, the Ravenclaw girl had a backpack with her and got out some bottles of pumpkin juice, Artemisa took out a sketch book and began to draw.

"Anyone want some?"

"Sure."

"So Granger, how does it is like to be the Slytherin prince's girlfriend?"

Hermione smiled and started to talk, maybe she wouldn't get bored after all.

* * *

Up in the sky, Malfoy was following the game closely, making sure that no one intended to kill another, he once in a while stole glances at the stands and smiled approvingly at his girlfriend and the group of girls, she was in better company now than those distasteful Weasleys, if no one of the red-heads talked to her ever again it would be a blessing. It was a shame that he hadn't been able to get rid of the bloody boy-who-lived too, but at least Potter and him had succeeded in tolerate each other, besides, the black-haired Gryffindor had finally come to his senses and listened to reason. Reason, among other things, said that a Slytherin was a thousand times better girlfriend than an annoying red-headed bitch. If Hermione knew what he was thinking she would skin him alive. 

A bludger that past rushing in front of him made Draco return to reality and he surveyed the pitch. All seemed to be in order. Except that he was missing a seeker.

'_Where in hell is Potter?'_

He looked around first and finally looked above him; Harry was there, completely immobile and apparently not paying attention to the game. Draco frowned and flew over to him, wanting to know what was happening.

"Hey Potter! What are you doing?!"

Harry didn't turn to look at him; he continued staring into space while he answered.

"Malfoy, what is that?"

"What?"

Draco looked over into the horizon; he didn't see anything at first and was starting to think Potter was mental when he noticed the mist. He narrowed his eyes and analyzed it, the mist was over a good part of the forbidden forest and it seemed to be advancing slowly, the blond panicked for a second and looked around, the mist was everywhere, thicker at some points, it was surrounding the castle. He gulped but tried to calm his panicked mind and think what it could be, at his side he heard Potter muttering his worst fear.

"Dementors?"

Malfoy bit his lip and considered the option.

"Could be, but they'll need a lot of them to surround the castle at that distance and create the mist, surely they don't have that many."

At least he hoped they didn't, he'll hate to have to deal with a lot of those things.

"What else could it be?"

Malfoy thought hard for a few seconds about other possibilities.

"Well, it could be a spell; they may be trying to isolate us, to cut communications and any way to escape."

"Like an outer ward?"

"Yeah, something like that. Dumbledore can be happy now, that could very well mean that we are next."

"About bloody time! I am tired of waiting! I want this to be over!"

Malfoy only nodded, he was about to suggest to go down when he heard the rest of the players flying over to them.

"Hey you two! What are you doing?"

Soon, all their schoolmates were looking to the strange mist, utterly shocked, until Malfoy decided that it was enough and shooed them back to the ground. Potter went directly to give the news to Dumbledore while Draco explained to the girls what was happening, after a few minutes everyone was inside the castle again.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It turned out that Malfoy's assumptions were correct. It was not long before the staff and the aurors confirmed that the floo network was not working and that the owls refused to fly more than a few meters away from the owlery, some parents had gone out the wards to try to apparate and had returned frustrated and tired of reappearing on the same spot that they were trying to leave, a few aurors that had volunteered to explore the limits of the mist had flew back, confused and having forgotten why they had left in the first place, people started to panic and turned to Dumbledore for a solution. The Headmaster remained calm and announced a meeting in the afternoon, every adult that wanted to go was welcome, as for the students, only the sixth and seventh years prefects were invited.

Malfoy, Millicent, Lilith and Andrew Deli walked to the room of requirement where they met quite a lot of people waiting for Dumbledore. Malfoy sighed and proceeded to make his way among them to find Hermione, the Slytherins followed him. They found the Gryffindors near the entrance, they didn't look very happy, in fact Potter looked like he was starting to forget that Ginny was supposed to be on his side and was considering the idea of strangling her, Hermione practically ran to Malfoy's side as soon as she spotted him, the red-head did a pathetic imitation of a sneer when she saw the Slytherins.

"Well, who could have said it? You're here after all, and I see that Nochland is not good enough to be a prefect, too bad, maybe she's not good enough for many other things."

"Ginny, shut up already!"

Potter was angry; Draco narrowed his eyes at the Weasley girl and snorted.

"Typical Gryffindor that thinks that to be a prefect is the only way she has to attract attention. Maybe someone like you doesn't have any other way to get people's respect."

Ginny paled and was ready to retaliate, but Harry spoke first.

"Please! Not now! Can't we at least pretend to have a truce? We can get attacked at any minute! We can't afford to lose time in fruitless bickering!"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow and smirked, embracing Hermione. Dumbledore appeared at that moment and invited everyone into the room.

* * *

After the few first moments of chaos, shouting and demanding a solution, Dumbledore could make everyone calm down and pay attention, he began to answer questions and explain his tactic for defense. Draco noticed that the Minister was there, as well as many of the principal men of the Ministry and the Wizengamot. Malfoy sniffed, they were after all an attractive target, the only thing that could be more obvious was a sign at the top of the castle saying "_attack here"_ with a bunch of arrows signaling its way, it was a misfortune that the Dark Lord had decided to make a show in Hogsmeade first. 

He heard the instructions that were given in order to defend the school and noticed how everyone progressively abandoned panic to focus on fight strategies; they analyzed a spell to keep dementors outside the wards but were instructed to be ready to cast full force patronus if some of them managed to get through. Only the sixth and seventh years were going to be allowed to fight, the rest of the students would have to stay in their respective Houses. The strategy was so well designed that Draco didn't have any doubt that the old man had been working at it for some time, and judging by the faces around him it seemed that some people had realized it too and didn't know if they should be annoyed or glad about that.

The only moment when Draco tensed and felt danger was when someone accused professor Snape for not being present, fortunately Dumbledore had thought about that too and had been able to cover Severus. It was a long meeting and Malfoy zoned out after they explained what position he would cover, he started to think about all the possible outcomes of a battle, he still was dealing with Vincent's death and he didn't want to have to deal with another one. He came back to reality when Dumbledore was almost finished.

"Tomorrow will be a busy day my friends, we would have to get ready, when the attack begins it's going to get hot inside here, remember to not panic, some of the outer walls may start to melt but it would stop soon, don't cast any cooling charms, just move to the main hall and get ready, we are going to give them a fight."

He dismissed the audience and everyone headed to the exit, Malfoy embraced Hermione and kissed her head while Harry walked towards Dumbledore.

"I'm a bit scared Draco"

"Don't be pet. We are going to make it, the Death Eaters would be weak, my godfather has told us the amount of energy that is necessary to do the ritual, I'm more worried about Dementors."

He looked around him, there was still some people talking among themselves, he supposed they must be of the Order. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of red and turned to see Mrs. Weasley in the process of asphyxiating Potter with a hug, he grimaced at the display and considered to disappear before someone decided to notice him; unfortunately Hermione was already waving her hand at another red-head who approached them immediately.

"Bill! You're here! I'm so glad that you're ok!"

"Hi Herm, Malfoy"

Draco nodded curtly and pulled Hermione to his side, Bill looked amused at his display.

"Hermione I'm sorry about what Ron did, and I have heard that Ginny had not been nice either."

"Don't worry Bill; I'm ignoring Ginny at the moment. I was hoping to not lose you all, you're really important to me."

"Well, it took a while for mother to accept it, but when she knew about the baby she just changed her mind, you know what she thinks about parenthood, she's glad that you two are taking your responsibility."

Malfoy almost rolled his eyes, but narrowed them instead, analyzing Bill, he wasn't sure if he should drag Hermione away from this Weasley, he didn't seem like a threat and Hermione was happy to know that not all the Weasleys hated her, but he was considering if such company was advisable, he hated mediocrity and all his life he had been told that the Weasleys were losers and commoners of the worst kind, though he recognized Bill as the one who had married Fleur Delacour, that was really something, the Delacours would never have allowed such a marriage if the groom wasn't good enough for their daughter. Malfoy was deciding to give Bill the benefit of the doubt when Mrs. Weasley appeared next to them.

"Oh, here you are dear! Hermione, I'm so sorry for my children!"

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley."

"I'll keep them both in line; they won't bother you or Harry anymore sweetheart."

Finally, someone heard Malfoy's prayers and hopefully Ginevra and Ronald Weasley would stop to be a pain in the ass, he thought that he could almost tolerate Mrs. Weasley's company. Almost. She was still a bit exuberant for his tastes, she just had an overwhelming motherly presence and he wasn't used to it; so he tensed and barely stopped himself from giving a step back when the woman turned to look sternly at him.

"And you young man. You better take good care of her, you hear me?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows and nodded, trying his best to not look shocked, Hermione giggled at his side and he glared at her. After a few minutes the group broke apart and the students returned to their respective common rooms.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

After leaving Hermione in Gryffindor's tower, Malfoy made his way to the dungeons, still thinking about the inevitable confrontation, his godfather had told them that the Death Eaters that would give their magic for the attack would be drained and useless after it, but not all the Death Eaters had to participate on it, that meant that there would be a fight and there was no guarantee that they'd be able to catch all of the Dark Lord's followers or to defeat the Dark Lord himself once and for all. The Order was ready for a chase.

Draco thought about his unborn son. Dumbledore had mentioned the fact that it may be to someone's advantage that they had the Minister of Magic in residence, Malfoy could ask for the marriage forms at any time, it was all they need to be legally married, he would talk about it to Hermione first thing in the morning. Funny, all his life he was expected to marry a worthy pureblood witch, one that had a respectable and influent family, who could enhance the social power that his own family already had, and it should have been a big social event. Malfoy smirked to himself, his mother would be disappointed at the lack of party, but they really couldn't wait, maybe later when they were safe they could think about celebrations, for now the legal stuff would have to be enough.

He got to his common room's entrance and said the password absent mindedly, entering the room, he really wasn't expecting the entire Slytherin house waiting for him, as soon as the door was closed they all turned to face him, Malfoy was quite shocked for a second but pulled himself together quickly and raised his eyebrows in askance at his fellow housemates. Soon Blaise started talking.

"We really are going to do this, right? We are going to fight against them."

Oh, that. Malfoy cursed himself for having completely forgotten the fact that some of the Slytherin's parents were Death Eaters and that they may have to fight against them, not to mention that they could find some of their ex-housemates among the enemy lines. He sighed and looked seriously at them.

"In fact, only the sixth and seventh years would be allowed to fight if they wish to do so, the rest are supposed to stay in the common room, away from the danger. But you can all stay behind if you want. No one is going to force you to do it."

He saw many faces relax at his words, some first year raised his hand timidly, wanting to talk.

"Malfoy, do you really think this is going to work?"

"It has possibilities."

"It's too risky Malfoy." Said a fifth year, Malfoy recognized him as one of the firsts that had followed Vincent's little rebellion. "We are risking too much, what if the Dark Lord wins? You can't really think that Potter would be able to stop him, he's just a student like any of us, he has no special powers, and you had said it yourself all these years!"

"I know he doesn't have anything especial, I'm not like those idiots that think that Potter is a hero who can save us all! Of course he's not going to defeat the Dark Lord; maybe he won't even fight him! Dumbledore is the one who's gonna do it, Potter and some of the aurors will help, that's why they have possibilities."

"But what if they loose anyway? We can get killed if we fight with the light!"

"Fighting for either side would not guarantee your life Hummold! Crabbe was with the Death Eaters and he's dead! Do you think the Dark Lord would give a shit about it?!"

They all looked down and Malfoy sighed tiredly.

"Look, if you want to go to the Dark Lord you can still do it. Just go talk with Thorney and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to accept you. But you'll have to do it tonight, tomorrow could be too late."

A few of the Slytherins did funny faces at Malfoy and others snickered.

"Patrick Thorney? That looser?"

"You got to be kidding, no wonder that you and your girlfriend are still in one piece!"

"Yeah, who would think it a good idea to have someone like him leading anything?"

Malfoy snickered too and shook his head, suddenly someone shot another question.

"What about professor Snape? Why he's not here?"

"He got stuck somewhere, but he won't be a problem."

"Really? Are you sure of that?"

"Yes Blaise, I'm sure."

"Then, do you think that there would be an advantage for us if we help in the fight?"

"Surely, if the side we'll be fighting for wins."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we would better be dead. Even if we were with the dark, believe me the Dark Lord is not what everyone tells you, he's not a great wizard, he has power, but he's mad and he only wants slaves at his side. I don't want to live like that, if he wins I rather be dead."

Malfoy stared at his housemates for a moment, making sure they knew he was serious.

"So, what's your answer?"

Blaise smirked and leaned on a couch.

"I'll fight, I have someone to protect too you know."

Malfoy rolled his eyes at him and muttered something hideous about romance. Millicent just shrugged and sneered.

"I'll do it too. I have nothing to lose anyway and mother is going to fight too, even if she's terrified that she might find father among the Death Eaters, I have to be with her in case that happens."

Malfoy nodded at her and looked at Goyle, the boy seemed to not be paying attention to them, Draco sighed and turned to the rest of the Slytherins.

"What do the sixth years say? Nochland?"

The girl raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Are you kidding? What kind of girlfriend I'll be if I don't support my partner?"

That made the Slytherins roll their eyes and some of the girls giggled, a fifth year girl that was beside Nochland punched her playfully.

"Sis! As if it wasn't enough that our baby brother was sorted in Gryffindor! Did you have to go and get one of them as a boyfriend?!"

"And the Golden-boy at that" said Lilith mockingly, there was some laughs this time and Artemisa shrugged.

"You're jealous of my good luck."

"Just don't let the Gryffindor rubs into you too much Nochland, I'd hate to have a Slytherin rushing at foolish acts of heroism. Try at least to teach him something useful, would you?"

Now the laughs of the younger Slytherins were more open, Malfoy smiled, content that they were more relaxed, he announced that the next day the upper years were expected in the room of requirement and then proceeded to take a seat beside Goyle, successfully ending the informal meeting. He was not sure of what his housemates would decide, but he expected that they waited until the attack was over to make a final decision; being Slytherins he knew that they'd prefer to be sure of the facts before making a move, and at the moment everything was still uncertain, but he had to his advantage the fact that none of them had liked the idea of having to speak to Thorney if they wanted to go to the Dark Lord.

He was worried about Goyle, so he waited until the majority of the Slytherins abandoned the common room. When there were only the seventh years left, Malfoy nudged at the bigger boy.

"Greg, you all right?"

"I'm going to kill him Malfoy."

"Hey, don't get over exited. Kill who?"

"Him. That stupid Marshall! It's all his fault!"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes in confusion for a moment and then sighed.

"Greg, it was Vincent's decision, Marshall only happened to be there for him to get a hold to."

"No! You don't understand Draco! It was Marshall the one who convinced him! I went over Vincent's house on Christmas and the Marshalls were visiting and that son of a bitch convinced him to go to the initiation! Our fathers didn't want us to go, when I arrived home, father asked where you were and told me to do exactly as you said, because he didn't want to make a mistake! I know that Crabbe senior said the same to Vincent, but then that bastard had to come and convince him to do stupid things! If it wasn't for him Vin would still be alive!"

Malfoy looked at the boy and considered for a moment. Crabbe and Goyle had been good friends practically since birth, he couldn't blame Gregory for being so upset; finally he sighed and conceded.

"Ok Greg, if we find Marshall, he'll be all yours."

The boy sniffed and nodded his thanks; they all went to sleep after that.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Two or three more chapters to go and this would be finished!


	26. Hogwarts’ Battle

Disclaimer for Harry Potter on the first chapter.

**Author's note:** I have not enough experience with battles, I hope this turned out acceptable, there would be a bit of violence but I think that it's not too much.

Thanks to Wintermist, who helped to beta this chapter.

**Chapter 26.** **Hogwarts' Battle.**

The next day, Draco was waiting for Hermione outside Gryffindor tower, they were going to see her mother and then have breakfast with her, after that they'd sign the papers to be married in Dumbledore's office, well, that was if she wanted to, though Malfoy was mentally planning how to convince her of the necessity of doing it as soon as possible, mainly for the baby's sake.

He was lost on his thoughts about his son when the portrait of the fat lady opened and Ron Weasley came out. Malfoy made a face of disgust; he hadn't known that the boy was already outside the Hospital Wing. The red-head stopped when he saw the blond and glared at him with pure hatred, Malfoy returned the glare with a superior smirk and Weasley gritted his teeth, his hands turned to fists as he advanced on Malfoy who took out his wand quickly, making Ron stop a few steps form him.

"Do not even think about it Weasley, I have no qualms over sending your sorry self to the hospital wing again."

"You bloody bastard, Hermione is mine!"

"Really? I don't think so."

"I know that you only want to have fun Malfoy, like the hideous Death Eater you are! But guess what? She lied with me long before you snaked into her bed!"

Malfoy felt the urge to laugh, he was certain that the only thing that had prevented Weasley to make a fool of himself all these years had been his friends, and now neither of them were around.

"Oh, are you sure of that Weasley?" He said mockingly

"She slept with me Malfoy! She was not a virgin anymore when you fucked her!"

Malfoy stared at the boy, wondering whether or not Weasley actually believed what he was saying.

"Weasley, you do realize that I could have known whether she was a virgin or not, right?"

Ron's face got red and hissed

"She just found the way to restore it. She was with me first!"

"Please! To do that she'd have to be a trained mediwitch and last time I checked she was still a student. Don't be so pathetic Weasley!"

"You know nothing Malfoy! And you're not going to make me believe that you're actually going to marry her! I know your kind! When she's gotten fat and you bored of her you'll decide that you have better things to do than go around bedding a whore like her! And she'll realize that no one is going to like her and would want to come back with me! Maybe if she begs well enough I'll consider forgiving her and I'll make her get rid of your spawn!"

Malfoy threw about three different hexes in rapid succession, but still was surprised when Ron's unconscious form started to grow moss; he lifted his head to see a very upset Hermione with her wand raised and a nauseated Potter at her side.

'_Oh, great!'_

Hermione was starting to cry, so Malfoy rushed to her side and dragged her away from the place.

"How much did you hear love?"

"Enough, but it's not only that, he was horrible yesterday when we returned to the common room, he immediately started to say foul things and said that I was stupid to believe that you care for our child, that you'll dump us as soon as You-know-who is dead!"

"Of course you don't believe him! Look at me Hermione!"

They stopped in the middle of the corridor and stared intently into each others eyes.

"Love, don't let him get to you. He's not worth your tears, once this war is finished we'll be living in our home and you won't see the bastard again. You don't have to listen to him."

"I know, it's just that, I was hopping that he would be a friend again, the effect from the potion must be gone now and… I just wanted to be able to talk civilly with him…"

Malfoy looked at her intently for a few seconds before hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, I know that he was your friend and that you'd welcome him back no matter how much I despise him, but Hermione, he'll never be the same again, the potion wears off but the changes it induced would never be totally gone."

"I know, I'll be fine, it's just so sad it ended like this."

Draco kissed her head sweetly and they started to walk again towards the Hospital Wing.

"I'm willing to believe that Potter made himself useful and stood by you."

"Oh, yes. Harry tried to make Ron shut up, but of course Ron had already heard about Nochland and called Harry a traitor and a number of other things, he insulted Artemisa too and Harry and Nochland's brother hexed him."

"Serves him right, but next time they'll do well in sending him to St Mungo's."

"No Draco, I don't want any of you getting in troubles for him, he's not worth it."

"Mmph."

Draco was not happy, but he chose to let the subject drop in favor of telling Hermione about the marriage papers that they could sign right away. The girl hesitated a moment but understood that it would benefit their child the sooner they marry, so she accepted and proposed Harry to be witness, Draco pouted but supposed it couldn't be helped; they hurried to the Hospital Wing to have breakfast, as well as telling Mrs. Granger the news.

&&&&&&&&&&&

They ended up signing the marriage contract in the Hospital Wing, beside Mrs. Granger's bed, because she had wanted to be present in such an important event of her daughter's life. Draco regretted that his own mother and his godfather were not there but it couldn't be helped, he had Blaise and Alice sign as his witnesses while Potter and Nochland signed in Hermione's behalf, Dumbledore and McGonagall were present as well, the latest had done all she could for Hermione to think twice about what she was doing, but the younger witch had firmly stated to her Head of House that she knew what she wanted and that she was convinced that it was the best for her and her child.

Once they all signed the contract and the couple said the words that would bound them permanently, the Minister declared the marriage valid. It was kind of weird but that didn't matter so much, they were married and no one would be able to separate them, Draco was going to make sure of that, though he suspected that his mother was going to be upset with him for the lack of party when she'd found out about the marriage.

Once the 'ceremony' was over they thanked the Minister for his help and then the students left to join their schoolmates in the room of requirement.

&&&&&&&&&

The rest of the day was spent organizing different teams along with the aurors and the villagers, though many of the students were scared, the majority were willing to fight to defend the school, so when dinner time came there was a strange mixture of fear, expectation and nervousness in the Great Hall. Draco held Hermione's hand while she ate and he looked over the tables, he had the impression that the Hall looked chaotic. He stared for a moment at Blaise and Alice who were seated at the Ravenclaw's table, and noticed that a boy accidentally bump into the girl, he narrowed his eyes, the boy was one of the junior death eaters, Blaise visibly wanted to get up and possibly hex the stupid git for not being careful but Alice stopped him and said something to Blaise's ear that made him smirk and kiss her, Malfoy rolled his eyes and turned to see Hermione industriously peeling some grapes.

He continued eating, trying to focus only on his food and his new wife, the next time he lifted his head he saw Blaise and his girl walking towards the doors and realized that many people had already left. He was considering taking Hermione with him to the Slytherin dungeons, as Dumbledore had told them it would be ok if they decided to sleep in the same room, when Nochland sat beside him with a serious expression.

"Tonight Malfoy."

The boy frowned at the words, not happy at all.

"We were waiting for it after all."

"What's happening?"

Draco turned to Hermione and hugged her with one arm.

"Inside information, apparently the junior death eaters have a meeting tonight, maybe they'll be told what to do."

"Oh, we have to tell Dumbledore."

"Yeah, but first let's go for Potter's little map. I want to see how many of them will actually do it. Come."

They got out of the Great Hall and hurried to the dungeons, intent on finding out what was going to happen.

&&&&&&&&

Blaise had left Alice midway to Ravenclaw tower because he had to talk with Malfoy, but the girl had walked instead to the meeting point of the Dark Lord's little supporters, this was supposed to be an important meeting and Blasie had said something earlier about Malfoy being sure that they'd be attacked the next day or overnight.

Alice was having some serious thoughts about the insanity of the world while she waited for the meeting to start, apparently Thorney had received instructions and was discussing something with Parvati, Alice was sure that the instructions had been codified and they didn't know how to break the code. Ha, she smirked to herself thinking that Blaise's Slytherin nature had rubbed on her, she had too many Slytherin friends something was definitely wrong with her. Talking about Slytherins, the girl noticed that not one of them was present tonight, which was a shame considering that they could have helped Thorney to decipher the stupid code and they could be already finished with all this; maybe that was why Padma had looked disappointed to see that Blaise had not come with his girlfriend after all.

Finally, Parvati said some rude comment to Thorney and walked away from him, Alice quirked and eyebrow and approached her.

"Something happened?"

"I can't believe what they said! Just get out and that's all! We only have to seal the main door and some hidden passages! It's not fair! I wanted to see his face when he'd die!"

"You mean Malfoy?"

"Of course!"

"Mm." Alice's lips thinned in concentration. "I'm curious Patil. Why do you care so much about Malfoy's little affair? It's not as if the pleasure is going to last much after all."

Parvati looked at the Ravenclaw girl intensely for a moment and then she lifted her head disdainfully.

"You know Anthera, my family is one of the most influent ones in India, and we are living in England because of father's business. Long ago my mother complained about my sister and my future weddings, she said that if father had been smarter we could have an arrangement with the Malfoys. You know, Draco was never fond of Pansy Parkinson, he never really cared about her, he cheated on her constantly, surely you are aware that he even preferred to bed Blaise than Pansy."

"I really didn't need that particular picture."

"Anyway, I once shared Malfoy's bed for a while, and he told me that if someone had asked his opinion he would have chosen me instead of her. Me, Anthera! He was supposed to come to me when Parkinson ditched him, I thought that he was bidding his time, that he had other things on his mind, like politics or that he was spying for the Dark Lord, and all this time he has been fooling around with that mudblood! He dared to prefer the Gryffindor bookworm to me! Not only another woman, a mudblood! I'm better than a mudblood! I want to kill them both myself! Bloody Malfoy has no right to laugh at me like that!"

Alice listened to Parvati's rant with contempt, she always had thought very little about romance and tragic vengeances, or poetic justice, she was practical, she was not a very romantic girl except when she was with Blaise, she tended to see the rest of the people's loves lives as little more than vivid soup operas, so the first thing that came to her mind when he heard Parvati's reasons for wanting to make Malfoy suffer was '_pathetic', _she was tempted to tell the Gryffindor girl about the recent marriage just to see her reaction but she thought better of it and held her tongue. The conversation was interrupted when Thorney cleared his throat and told them the so expected plan. This could be resumed simply as "_get out of the castle if you want to live"_.

"Some of us already have sealed the passages, we only have to make sure the front door is sealed as well, we are leaving now."

"What? Right now?" Alice was suddenly alarmed; she had hopped that they would have more time.

"Yes Anthera, now. Let's go."

And with that they headed to exit the castle.

&&&&&&&&&

Malfoy got side tracked by Blaise in the Slytherin common room, they talked for a long while and Malfoy suggested his friend to be calm and prepared, then he and Hermione went to his bedroom for the Marauder's map, Draco didn't take it out until they were on the corridors again. Once sure that no one had followed them, Malfoy took out the parchment and whisper the incantation to make the map appear.

"Damn."

"What's happening?"

"They're on their way out of here. That's not good."

"Out of the castle?"

"Yes" Draco read all the labels of the dots that were exiting by the main door and frowned.

"Everything's all right?"

"Yeah, no Slytherins in there. They must be in a hurry; we have to tell everyone to be ready."

He finished the incantation and folded the parchment away, he and Hermione walked towards Dumbledore's office quickly, when they got there they found out that Harry and McGonagall had preceded them, apparently Potter also had the impression that something big was going to happen, surely Nochland had told him about the junior death eaters meeting, they quickly sent word to the Minister, aurors, villagers and staff to prepare themselves, the students were sent back to their respective common rooms to alert their schoolmates and gather the ones that would fight, Harry hurried up to Gryffindor tower and Hermione returned with Draco to the dungeons.

Halfway to their destination, Malfoy handed Hermione the Marauders' map.

"Take this Hermione, I want you to check it every once in a while. You know where the secret passages are, right?"

"Yeah, but Draco…"

A loud noise interrupted her and Malfoy pulled her onto him, the noise seemed to come from somewhere above them.

"What's that?"

"I don't know"

There was another sound and then the castle began to shake.

"Oh my God!"

"Easy love, Dumbledore said this might happen."

The temperature rose a little and Malfoy hugged Hermione, trying to calm her, he began to worry when some of the stones started to melt but almost immediately the earth quake stopped and the temperature dropped again to a normal level.

"You ok pet?"

"Yes, let's hurry Draco; we have to be up there with the others."

Blaise and the rest of the Slytherins met them before they reached the common room, after reassuring Draco that their younger housemates were fine and staying in the dungeons they walked together to the Main Hall and proceeded to merge with the rest of the people assembled. Draco took Hermione to the stairs and grabbed her by the upper arms.

"You have the map; if anything goes wrong you can run away or at the very least hide; do not let any of them catch you."

"But Draco, I won't have time to see the map while I'm fighting."

"You're not going to fight Hermione. I want you to stay here."

"W-What?! Draco Malfoy you have no right to tell me what to do!"

"I have and I will! You're my wife now Hermione and you're not going to go into a battle where you can get easily harmed!"

"That's unfair! I can fight as well as you! I'm not any different just because I'm a woman!"

"You have a baby inside you! I'm pretty well aware that you can defend yourself and that you are pretty good in a duel, but you're not taking that risk now Hermione!"

The Gryffindor girl bit her lip and caressed her tummy, a small bump was now noticeable there.

"I'll be alright, I can still fight."

"Hermione don't be stubborn!"

"I'm not, I want to help! I refuse to be left behind in safety when all of you are risking your lives!"

"Over my dead body! I'm not allowing it Granger! You're not going to risk our child in this battle! As well protected as he is now because of the shields, he's still vulnerable. He depends on you! You're going to stay here and that's final!"

"What's happening?"

The couple turned around to see a nervous Harry beside them; Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.

"Malfoy here thinks that he can order me around! He doesn't want me to fight, but I'm not about to stay inside the castle as he's telling me to!"

Malfoy glared at Hermione and Harry sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, if I had gotten you pregnant I'd be telling you the very same thing."

"What?!"

"Ha! Potter agrees with me! You see? It's just common sense Hermione. You don't want anything to happen to our baby, do you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you're going to be reasonable and stay here, away from people that want to murder you, fine?"

"But you…"

"I'm going to be fine Hermione, don't worry about me. Please, promise you'll stay here. No matter how bad things seem to get out there, you're going to think about our baby first and are going to stay safe. Please love."

Draco stared intensely into Hermione's eyes and the girl finally sighed and surrendered.

"Fine. I'll stay."

"That's a good girl."

Malfoy kissed her forehead and hugged her before starting to walk towards the main entrance. Harry hugged her in goodbye too.

"Don't worry Hermione; he's going to be fine."

"You take care too Harry."

"Don't worry. If you want to be helpful you can go to the Hospital Wing and help Madam Pomfrey. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Take care."

"Come on Potter! We don't have all night!"

Both boys joined their respective teams just when Dumbledore was opening the doors and they marched out, ready to fight whatever was out there.

&&&&&&&&&

Alice was nervous; she was biting her lower lip and playing with the hem of her cloak while the group walked to the forbidden forest. Why she had to get into this messy situation? She shouldn't have listened; she should have at the very last tried to convince Blaise to come with her. She was not sure of what was going to happen and didn't think that go into the forbidden forest was a good idea. To her immense relief they stopped at the shadow of the first trees and Thorney declared that they should wait.

The girl looked at the castle, if Blaise's information was right they were now outside of the main ward that protected it, but they were still practically in Hogwarts grounds, the only ward that surrounded them now was the antiaparition one. She looked around at the exited faces of her schoolmates and was about to ask what exactly they were going to do when she heard a terrible noise coming from the school, she turned around and saw purple lightning surrounding the massive building, the noise repeated itself louder and the lightning was more brilliant for an instant before disappearing. Alice knew that the wards had been broken. Her shock increased when she saw the castle starting to melt, she took a step towards it, not believing her eyes, it was like seeing a plastic doll burning in a fire, except that there was no fire, the stones were just melting spontaneously, from the Astronomy Tower all the way down to the ground, it was a matter of seconds before all that was left was a big mass of crumpled stone.

Alice didn't move for a while, she heard the exited whispering from the others and then she heard another noise at her right side and turned, she couldn't see very well in the dark forest, but he heard footsteps, many of them, some shadows started to move and walk into the clearing that was Hogwarts' grounds, cloaked figures. Death Eaters. So, they had actually come to see their handiwork. They approached the carcass of the castle laughing and stopped a few meters from it, someone pulled at Alice's sleeve and forced her out of her shock.

"Come on Anthera, let's join them."

Alice didn't want to join anybody, but the boy dragged her over, they almost ran with the rest of the students until they heard an inhuman laugh, the Ravenclaw girl felt her blood freeze, he was there, He-who-must-not-be-named was there, Alice was on the mind to turn around and run, they were way behind the Death Eaters and no one had noticed them yet, she took two steps backwards and her back collided with something, she turned around but couldn't see a thing. The girl frowned and extended a hand feeling an invisible but very solid barrier, she quirked an eyebrow in wonder when she heard many gasps and surprised yells, one outraged exclamation of disbelief surpassed everything else. She turned again slowly and gaped at the sight.

The castle was there, all in one piece and as solid as ever, there was a moment of uncertainty before the main doors opened and chaos exploded, the previously semi-dark night was suddenly illuminated by hundreds of different spells fired at the same time, people started to run everywhere, the confusion was greater when the Death Eaters realized that they couldn't escape. Alice frowned and finally approached Thorney and the Patil twins; apparently they were having some kind of discussion.

"It was a trap! Where are you going, Parvati?!"

"I'm going to find him!"

"Are you insane? We have to get out of here!"

"Sis, we can hide until the fight is over!"

"No! This is my chance! I'm going for Malfoy, no one but him and the mudblood know for certain that we are supporting the Dark Lord! It would be easy to return to Hogwarts if we need to, but we have to get rid of them!"

"Parvati! Wait!"

Alice didn't pay attention to the rest of the junior Death Eaters that were still deciding whether they should hide or throw their cover away and help the Dark Lord's followers. The Ravenclaw followed Parvati and the other two students and soon the four of them were dodging spells trying to find Malfoy.

&&&&&&&&&&

Draco was casting hexes and dodging what he could, it was insane, the only way that he could recognize the Death Eaters was because of their cloaks, a bunch of them had been drained and weak, but that didn't mean that they had fallen without a fight, especially when they realized of the impossibility of escape. Everyone had been scattered in the confusion and all that was being heard was yelling and curses, the magic was increasing and for a moment Draco thought they all would get killed inside of the wards, he didn't know if they were winning, hell, he hadn't the slightest idea if someone was actually winning there, he was sure that the Dark Lord had somehow called for reinforcement, he had heard some howls mixed with all the curses and he thanked the fates that it was not a full moon. Malfoy could see with the dim light two mountain-like figures moving about the very edge of the wards, evidently trying to get closer.

At the moment Draco, Blaise and two aurors were near the Quidditch pitch, successfully beating the last of the Death Eaters that were attacking that side, Draco had not seen anyone familiar yet, and he was very grateful that the Death Eaters were using the masks; it was easier to curse faceless enemies. Blaise had been hit by a relatively non-dangerous spell and his right leg was covered in some hideous substance, but there hadn't been time to tend to it, they had lost two people and Malfoy was feeling tingles up his left arm that had been bleeding a minute ago, but they were going to clean this side of the castle's grounds from the Dark Lord's supporters, he was sure of that.

Blaise was at his side, taking cover behind a big stone, he was very nervous and kept looking around him every once in a while, as if he was waiting for something.

"Damn it! Where in Hell could she be?! I didn't see her when we left the castle!"

"She must be somewhere around Blaise, stop worrying about Alice and pay attention!"

Suddenly the ground started to shake as a thunderous scream could be heard.

"Damn! What's happening?!" shouted Blaise, Draco turned around to see an immense mass of darkness hit the outer ward.

"It's a giant. It's trying to break the invisible wall!"

Suddenly the enormous silhouette was shoved to the side by another one, smaller but still monstrous, Draco couldn't distinguish very well but the monsters had left the ward alone for a moment. The two Death Eaters that had been still fighting apparently decided to go for backup and they ran as fast as they could.

"Move boys! We must follow!"

The aurors went after the Death Eaters, Draco and Blaise were about to follow when a flash of light hit the black-haired boy from behind and he fell to the ground. The blond turned and cast a stupefy that hit one of four figures that were approaching him, the other three continued advancing and pointing their wands at him, Draco gritted his teeth, considering his options, when one of the figures started a fire that allowed him to see better, he sneered at Parvati.

"Well, well, Malfoy. It seems you ran out of luck."

"I don't need luck to take you down Patil."

"Can't you see Malfoy? There are three of us. You can't win this time."

Malfoy looked briefly at Thorney with contempt and then arched an eyebrow to Alice, the girl shrugged.

"Are you surprised Malfoy?"

Draco ignored Thorney and huffed.

"Blaise has been asking for you."

Alice rolled her eyes but say nothing, Parvati grew annoyed.

"Too bad that he didn't know who hit him. It's your turn now Malfoy, you won't came out of this alive!"

"Why don't you prove that, Patil?"

The girl gritted her teeth at Malfoy's smirking face and attacked.

"Furnunculus!"

"Impedimenta!"

"Incarcerous!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Malfoy dodged Parvati's curse but the _Incarcerous_ hit him, he didn't fight the ropes, he just fell to the ground hearing two other bodies fall along with him and waited, soon enough he saw Alice's shoes in front of him and a heartbeat later he was free of the ropes, he got up and smirked to the Ravenclaw girl who smiled back.

"Now Malfoy, aren't you glad that I'm a good little Ravenclaw?"

"Why Alice? You could have been a fine Slytherin. Too bad I missed their faces when you petrified Thorney".

"I'll consider that a compliment. But I should kill you Draco Malfoy! How dare you send me with those loonies without telling me what was going to happen?! I saw the castle melt! For a moment there I thought that the lot of you was dead!"

"Hey, I didn't know that Dumbledore would make such a good illusion! But I told you to be prepared to see some kind of damage; otherwise the Death Eaters wouldn't have believed it!"

"It was quite impressive. But it's the last time I play spy for you! I quit!"

Malfoy snickered at her and walked towards the fallen students while Alice enervated her boyfriend, soon Malfoy could hear Blaise standing up and starting to fret over her girlfriend.

"Where have you been?! I was looking for you!"

"Where you asked me to be! Following that crazy bitch's steps!"

"You weren't supposed to take this long!"

"It's not my fault that they couldn't find Malfoy quickly!"

"Stop bickering, would you?"

Malfoy could see the light of all the spells cast at the front of the school where the battle was still taking place. He was of a mind to go see what was happening when suddenly they all felt a drastic increase in magic and an intense light could be seen, it was pure energy, and it gave the impression that it would explode at any moment. Draco could feel the ground vibrating, then a loud yell was heard and the ground shook, throwing them off balance.

"What's that?!"

Draco raised his head and saw that one of the enormous silhouettes had returned and was delivering heavy blows to the invisible wall that prevented it form getting near the castle, the ground shook with each blow of the creature, at the same time the light that came from somewhere in the other side of the grounds increased its intensity.

"Fuck, we have to go over there! Blaise, can you walk?"

"Of course I can!"

"That leg doesn't look so well." Said Alice

"I can still fight! It's nothing!"

Another blow, stronger this time, and Blaise almost fell over, Draco could see some spells directed at the massive intruder, at the dim light of them and the formidable magic that had not ceased the blond could distinguish the upper body of a giant.

"Anthera, levitate those morons and take them inside the castle, quick."

"Don't order me around Malfoy! Who do you think you are?"

The girl complained but did as she was told nonetheless, while Blaise and Draco ran over to where some wizards were trying to stop the giant.

They joined the group that was near the forbidden forest and started firing hexes as well, the ground continued shaking from time to time and the light of the powerful magic kept getting brighter until they all could see perfectly well, almost as if it was day time, Draco could even see that behind the giant's enormous legs were some shadows moving around and had the certainty that those were Dementors, the wards stopped them from getting closer but they were there, waiting.

Draco was concentrated in stopping the menace, just as everyone around him, so he didn't sense any other danger until someone pulled him from behind and dragged him away from the commotion, he turned around sharply to be face to face with a disheveled Pansy Parkinson.

"Hello Draco dearest. Missed me?"

"Like hell Parkinson. I must say that these last months had been the best of my life."

"Around a mudblood I had heard." She said with distaste, Malfoy sneered.

"A thousand times much better than you."

Parkinson's eyes widened with fury.

"How dare you?! You little piece of scum! Too bad that he wouldn't let me kill you!"

Pansy raised her wand, but Draco was fastest and stupefied her first, then he tied her up like they were doing with all the Death Eaters. The Minister had declared that they could use only one of the unforgivables but they were only allowed to kill anyone if they had no other choice, so far Draco hadn't need to use it.

He was about to return to the fight with the giant when some unknown force lifted him in the air and he went flying towards the forbidden forest, his back hit a tree and he landed face first on the ground, before he could comprehend what had happened he was feeling the cruciatus.

"So, my son, you thought that I wouldn't find you?"

Draco tried to fight the pain and sat, lifting his head to see the cold eyes of his father.

"Hardly."

He lifted his wand but Lucius was too fast for him, soon he was on the ground again, screaming.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hermione was beside herself with worry, not all the Death Eaters had been weak because of the ritual, many of them were at full capacity, fortunately the most powerful wizards were needed for the ritual and they couldn't cast the unforgivables, that meant that they had to deal with some deaths, but not as many as they could have, still there was many injured people and they had to tend to them quickly, the captured Death Eaters were being conduced to a room on the first floor that had been equipped like a cell, Hermione wondered where they were going to take them when the battle was over. She was worried about her friends and Draco, some injures were really awful and after some minutes of nearly throw up twice she decided that an Avada Kedabra was a merciful death after all.

She was scared when the earthquakes began, and then she felt the magic trying to go wild, it was too much, she had to know what was happening outside, so she ran to the main hall and saw the aurors dealing with some Death Eaters and some of her schoolmates that were taking cover behind the big doors, someone entered running and levitating three unmoving bodies, Hermione recognized Alice and ran over to her, she arrived when an auror was taking charge of the students Alice had brought and the Ravenclaw girl seemed like she was going to get out again.

"Anthera! Wait!"

"Oh, hi Granger."

"Where's Draco? Have you seen him?"

"He's with Blaise, don't worry he's fine."

"What's happening out there? Are we winning?"

"Well, I don't know if we are winning, but if someone doesn't do something soon we are going to have a giant demolishing the place."

"A giant?! Oh my god! And what about the magic? It looks like daytime out there!"

"I'm not sure, but I think that Dumbledore, Harry and You-know-who are the ones causing it. I'm going out Granger, see you soon."

"No wait! I'm coming with you!"

"No way! You're staying here! Malfoy'd kill me if you come out of here with me."

"But…"

"Don't worry, we'll come back soon."

The girl went outside again, Hermione noticed that most of the wizards had gone out too; she stayed in the hall for a moment, wishing that the little earthquakes stopped, the walls of the castle seemed to be glowing and suddenly Hermione felt a chilly sensation, she turned left and right to see that Hogwarts' ghosts were all around her.

"Gods, what's going on?" She asked when nearly headless Nick passed by her

"Ah girl, we sensed the magic, it's really powerful, it must be stopped, if it gets out of control it would destroy us all!"

The entire castle started to shake and Hermione braced herself, some people entered looking for cover, after a few moments the walls went still and the magic seemed to stabilize but didn't diminish its intensity, Hermione leaned in a wall to steady herself as people were running in a panic now and more injured entered the castle, soon the main hall was full of aurors and other wizards and witches helping the incapacitated, Hermione spotted a group of students that entered carrying a body, Bulstrode was with them, Hermione approached them and recognized the boy they were carrying as Marshall, he was covered in blood and seemed to be barely breathing.

"What happened to him?"

"Mmm, well, according to Misha here, he was attacking a group of Gryffindors when Goyle surprised him, we had to stun Greg to get him away from Marshall, he nearly killed him."

"Oh."

Another group entered the castle, this time it was Hanna Habbot, Anthera, Creevey, Nochland and Blaise, they were levitating Hagrid's unconscious huge mass. Hermione ran over to them.

"Hagrid! What happened?"

"Fenrir Greyback was attacking professor Lupin and Hagrid tried to help him, but Greyback was not alone, Bellatrix Lestrange was nearby and she called up some of Greyback's comrades."

"Is professor Lupin alright?"

"He stayed outside, helping with the giant."

A loud yell was heard and the ground started to shake again, Hermione let the students take Hagrid to the Hospital Wing and then ran over to Zabini, who was leaning on Anthera, his leg was completely useless by then.

"Blaise! Blaise, where's Draco?"

"Out there, we were helping with the giant but I lost sight of him."

"Damn!"

"Don't worry Hermione, everything should end soon."

Alice dragged her boyfriend to the infirmary, leaving Hermione to worry again, the girl paced on the main hall, looking over at everyone that entered, feeling the intensity of the magic battle flow through the ground and every stone in the castle. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks and cursed herself, getting out the Marauder's map from her cloak and casting the spell to reveal it, she searched the castle's grounds for Draco's dot and have a moment of panic when she realized that Harry was fighting Voldemort directly, she felt somewhat relieved to see that Dumbledore and Moody were at both sides of her friend and continued searching for her husband, she spotted him finally and gasped in terror at what she saw, she quickly tucked the map away and ran outside, intent on finding Draco before it was too late.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Draco was breathing heavily, trying with all his might to fight against the pain, he wouldn't let his father defeat him, he won't surrender. Lucius let him sat against a tree and looked with disgust as the young boy stood up slowly on shaky legs.

"I can't believe I fathered you, you have dishonored the Malfoy name, you are an utter disgrace!"

"… at least… I'm not a slave…" Draco raised his head to look straight into his father's eyes, the man was furious.

"You disrespectful brat!"

The cruciatus was over him again and Draco fell to his knees, it didn't last long, his father wanted to break him slowly, but he was not going to give him the pleasure.

"… w-what father? ... You can't stand the truth? ..." he said with a raspy voice and got up again, he even attempted a few steps forward while Lucius sneered at him.

"You know nothing; you are a spoiled boy, too coward to fight for our traditions, for our honor as purebloods."

"… what a mountain of shit…"

"You don't deserve to have the Malfoy name; you have defiled yourself beyond repair! The Dark Lord will win and you are going to see it Draco and regret the day you turned your back on your upbringing!"

Draco saw the wand pointed towards him and straightened as best as he could, waiting for the curse, Lucius Malfoy was not going to break him.

"Draco!!"

Malfoy's eyes widened when he heard the voice and froze in complete horror, he didn't turn around, he was still looking at his father's sneer while his mind entered in a panic state.

'_No, no, she's not here! She can't be here! She's not that stupid!'_

He couldn't move, he didn't hear the curse that left his father's lips, he just saw a body inserting itself between him and the light that came from Lucius' wand instants before said body collided with him and both fell to the ground.

Draco lost his breath for a heartbeat and then opened his eyes wide, his hands shoot around the still form over him, too still for his comfort, Hermione's face was pressed to his neck and he could feel that she was unnaturally cold.

'_No, no, no, please move, please be alive, please.'_

His magic reached over to hers and the baby, searching for any indication of life, the bond between them suddenly began to pull on Draco's magic, almost sucking it from him, the boy sighed in relief, they both were alive, but he needed to take them with the mediwitch quickly, he fumbled in her robes looking for her wand while he felt his father's steps on the ground getting closer.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? The little mudblood whore didn't want to live without you, I'm glad that we could grant her last wish."

He was close, Draco didn't need to see him; with a fast move the boy shoved the girl's body to the side and pointed to his target.

"Crucio!"

Lucius screamed and fell to the ground, his protection spell was not enough for the force of Draco's cruciatus, the boy stood up with some difficulty and ended the spell; he still needed something else.

"Accio Draco and Lucius' wands!"

The two wands flew over to him and the blond caught them easily, then he pointed his own wand towards his father.

'_Do it, come on just do it, kill him now and it would be over.'_

Lucius recovered and started to get up, his eyes flashed with hate at his son.

"What are you trying to do? Kill me? Ha! Don't make me laugh, you're not Malfoy enough to do it, you don't have enough courage! You're nothing but a pathetic weakling!"

"Shut up!"

Draco's body was shaking, he was weak form the cruciatus he had taken, it was too much, he stared into Lucius eyes and knew that the man was laughing at him, still he couldn't do it, Lucius was his father, he couldn't kill him. His legs gave up and he crumbled to the ground, lowering his wand, he couldn't put the shaking under control, he heard his father laughing and cursed himself for being so weak.

"Nothing more than a loser, that's what you are Draco."

The boy tried to gather his energy; he only needed to get rid of the man so he could take Hermione to the infirmary. He raised his wand again and was surprised to see another spell hit his father from the right side, in an instant the man was tied up and as surprised as his son, someone pulled Draco to his feet and pressed a vial of potion to his lips.

"Drink Draco"

He did it automatically, Lucius was now yelling at the intruder.

"You traitor! All this time it was you the one betraying us! You're gonna pay for this Snape!"

"Silentio!"

The spell took care of Lucius voice and the man was reduced to try and struggle silently with his bonds without luck. Draco recovered enough to stand by himself again, he ignored his father's form on the ground and gestured to Hermione, Snape gave him a nod and Draco turned around, ready to fly.

"Wait Draco, give me his wand."

"But I need it; I don't know which spell he used!"

"Easily solved, give it to me."

Draco did as his godfather told him and gave up the wand; with a quick '_Prior Incantato_' they soon knew the spell and Snape frowned.

"You better go now, levitate her you're not well and you both would end on the ground before you even reach the castle if you carry her."

Draco groaned and followed Severus' instructions, trying his best to get to his destination as quickly as possible. When he was gone, Snape looked evilly at Lucius; at that moment a big earthquake was felt Severus only turned a bit to see that the giant had finally been defeated, the wards began to crumble as the magic from the battle with the Dark Lord increased for a moment and started to send flashes of lightening everywhere. Snape smirked and returned to Lucius.

"It seems that it's about to end. The Dark Lord would finally be disposed of. Too bad that you're going to miss it Lucius. You know, Draco is still just a boy, he doesn't have what it takes to be a killer, but I am another matter entirely."

Lucius widened his eyes as Snape walked closer to him with the blonde's wand raised.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of your family, I'm sure that your wife and son would be delighted to be rid of you, oh, and don't forget your unborn grandchild."

Lucius face contorted in a gesture of hate and desperation as Snape cast a final curse towards him.

&&&&&&&&&

Draco had a hard time trying to maintain his equilibrium as well as dodging the erratic pulses of magic that were out of control, he made it to the castle's doors when the light from the battle suddenly disappeared, leaving him in a slightly confused state, it took some seconds for his eyes to readjust to the semidarkness and he continued with his precious cargo towards the infirmary as fast as he could.

He barely made it to the Hospital Wing and was about to collapse when someone took hold of him, he muttered Hermione's name and the spell that was cast at her, registered movement taking her away and then lost consciousness.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

To fictionwriter191: I'm deeply sorry for the lack of fight between Marshall and Greg, I was going to put it somewhere but I couldn't regain my wits to write an acceptable fight, sorry, sorry, I hope you liked this though.

Nearly there, just bear with me a little more.


	27. Return to Normal Life

Disclaimer for Harry Potter on the first chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 27. ****Return to Normal Life.**

The young Malfoy woke up a few hours later, at first he didn't recognize the place, but soon he realized that he was in one of the beds of the Hospital Wing, he moved and straightened, trying to remember what had happened, the curtains around his bed were closed, but he could still hear voices coming and going outside them. Slowly his mind cleared and he remembered what had happened, panic threatened to overcome him and he was about to stand up when the curtain parted and Goyle stepped inside.

"Draco, you're awake!"

"Greg, what's going on? What happened?"

"We won Draco! Well, almost."

"Almost?! What do you mean? And where's Hermione?!"

"Well…"

Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared all business like and ordered Malfoy to relax and stay in bed while she checked on him. The blond was not happy with that.

"Where's Hermione? Madam Pomfrey what happened to her?"

"Take it easy young man. She's still in a delicate state, but she'll make it. We have to wait until she wakes up."

"Delicate state?! What about my son? I need to see her!"

"Quiet young Malfoy. The child is fine, surprisingly he's in fact better than his mother, whatever magic you two performed had kept him safe and unharmed. We have done all we could for her, it's only a matter of time before she wakes up."

"Where is she?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed and seeing that there would be no way that the blond Slytherin would stay quiet she instructed Goyle to accompany his housemate to see the Head Girl and both boys made their way across the crowded Hospital Wing to a ward that was protected with silencing charms.

Malfoy wasn't really looking around him, he just wanted to get to Hermione's side and be sure that she was still there with him, he was a bit dizzy and didn't mind that Goyle was supporting him as long as he got to see her. They approached one of the little private rooms and entered, there was enough space for the bed, a little bedside table and two chairs, but Malfoy didn't care it was small, it was better than one of the beds outside, here they have privacy and solitude.

Draco sat in one of the chairs and Goyle excused himself, saying that he needed to go check on his friend, the blond nodded without really noticing when the other boy left and continued looking at the peaceful face of his wife. He took one of her hands and was glad to see that it was not cold, he extended an arm towards her tummy and sighed, making circular movements on it and whispering.

"It all will be right little one; mommy is going to be fine."

He was so engrossed talking to his child that he didn't noticed someone entering the room until a hand touched his shoulder and he heard his godfather's voice.

"You are not well yet Draco, what are you doing here?"

"I had to see her. I told her to stay inside, why didn't she listen?"

"You should know by now that Gryffindors are prone to not follow orders."

"It sucks."

"You are tired, you should rest."

"What happened? Goyle said that we almost won, what did he mean?"

"Well, some Death Eaters were able to escape, the aurors are hunting them."

"And the Dark Lord?"

"We don't know. Albus and Potter are both unconscious, Alastor is dead. We found them when the residual magic from the battle dissipated but there was no sign of the Dark Lord anywhere. We'll have to wait until they wake up to know what happened."

"So, he may still be around. I always asked myself why Potter had to face him. Everyone portrayed him as a hero but I didn't think that the wizarding world was actually expecting him to defeat the Dark Lord all by himself, at least I think that way, Potter had always been only an icon, wasn't he?"

"Yes and no. You see Draco, it's true that Dumbledore had used young Potter as the image of hope, to lift people's sprits and to convince them that no matter how powerful the Dark Lord was, he could be defeated, anyone who had survived the killing curse would have done the job quite well, but there's something else, there was a prophesy."

"A prophesy?"

"Yes, one that said that a child born around the end of July and whose parents had opposed the Dark Lord three times would be the Dark Lord's equal and that only one of them should survive."

"Don't tell me you believe that Potter is some kind of prophesy child. And anyway, it doesn't say that he would actually kill the Dark Lord."

"It's not precise, but it doesn't really matter whether we believe the prophesy or not, what matters is that the Dark Lord did, and he was convinced that Potter was that child. He gave the prophesy a meaning when he attacked the Potters, he had convinced himself that no one but Harry Potter would have enough power to kill him, and he also thought that only him would be able to kill the brat. Dumbledore used this to his advantage; in a way he had always used Potter to manipulate even the Dark Lord."

"Are you sure he's not a Slytherin?"

"Deviousness is not exclusive to Slytherins, no matter how much the world insists to see it that way. Now, I really think that you should take a rest."

Malfoy nodded and proceeded to kindly move Hermione, so he could lie on the bed beside her, Severus scowled when he realized Draco's intentions.

"May I be informed of what you think you're doing Draco?"

"Mm? Oh, I just want to be with her, I don't think it would be inappropriate, she's my wife after all."

The potions master stared at his godson and scowled.

"Wife?"

"Yes, sorry, I forgot you didn't know, we signed the marriage contract before the attack."

Severus growled in annoyance and then turned to leave, muttering.

"I turn my back for an instant and he starts making harsh decisions."

He was about to get out when Draco's tired voice stopped him.

"What happened with Lucius?"

Severus looked at the boy again and answered without batting an eye.

"The aurors found him dead on the edge of the forbidden forest; apparently he killed himself with his own wand. Probably the prospect of spending the rest of his life in Azkaban was unbearable for him."

Draco nodded and lied down, tucking Hermione in his arms, Snape turned again and left the young couple to rest, he still had to locate Narcissa to give her the news.

&&&&&&&&&

Malfoy was much better for lunch time, so Madam Pomfrey insisted on him to go to the Great Hall to eat. The boy didn't want to leave Hermione's side but the mediwitch was adamant that he should go and take a walk, and then he could return and be with her the rest of the day. Draco finally surrendered, he did feel like he needed to go outside the infirmary for a while, but he made Madam Pomfrey swear that no one but him or professor Snape would enter his wife's room. As long as there were Death Eaters still running free he would not feel safe... not even inside Hogwarts.

The Great Hall was full of people celebrating the victory, Draco saw a lot with bandages but all of them seemed really happy. He spotted Millicent and her mother on the Slytherin table and he went to sit with them, the girl greeted him with a grin.

"Hello Malfoy. How's your girlfriend?"

"It's wife now Millicent and she's recovering. What did I miss?"

Millicent gaped at him for what seemed an eternity; Malfoy rolled his eyes and grabbed the newspaper she had beside her bowl of soup. He snickered at the front page.

'**_HOGWARTS SURVIVED!!!'_**

"It seems like Minister Deius is taking matters on his hands."

Millicent finally broke out of her shock and started to talk animatedly as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, oh yes, you should have seen it, as soon as communication with the outer world was restored we were assaulted by reporters, the entire wizarding world is anxiously expecting Dumbledore and Potter to wake up to know what has become of the Dark Lord."

"It says some Dementors had returned to Azkaban's ruins and that the prison would be standing again in no time. How did we get rid of them? I remember that those things were outside the barrier, just waiting for the right moment to attack."

"Well, yeah. It was strange, you know? At the end of the battle the magic went wild and out of control, and the Dementors just turned around and left as fast as they could, and they weren't the only ones, as far as the aurors can tell it seems that the forbidden forest is deserted, you can't hear a sound in there, even the ghosts are gone! And the house elves are terrified; they're performing their duties exclusively in the dungeons! Someone said that the amount of magic was so immense that all magical creatures truly feared for their lives."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows in wonder and then looked around the Great Hall. There were some sad faces, no doubt there had been some deaths, he stopped at the Gryffindor table where Ginny Weasley had a sad expression, but Ronald seemed to be as carefree as always.

"Was there any students dead?"

"Mm? Oh, well a Gryffindor, Dean Thomas, and a Hufflepuff sixth year are the only students we lost in battle."

"The Weasley girl seems particularly affected."

"Well, Thomas died saving her. He took a killing curse meant for her. I suppose she's feeling guilty."

Malfoy nodded and glared at Ron Weasley who had been looking at him for a moment, the red-head lifted his chin and looked away, Draco scowled at the gesture.

"Is it my imagination or Weasley has developed a superiority complex?"

"Oh yes, he's feeling heroic, that potion you said that Parvati gave him had made him quite the warrior, he caused havoc in the battle."

Malfoy huffed and continued surveying the Great Hall, Blaise was with his Ravenclaw girlfriend and Goyle was a few seats to his right, talking animatedly with his Hufflepuff friend, who had a bandage on her forehead.

"Goyle seems happy."

"Mmph, you missed it. He found Marshall having fun torturing two Gryffindors and Goyle attacked him from behind, he cast two very painful curses while screaming how much he hated the boy, then Greg decided that he wanted physical contact and proceeded to beat the life out of the git; it was interesting and he attracted the attention of several students that were fighting in the vicinity, and really, we only stopped him because the Ravenclaws were horrified. I'm still wondering how Goyle managed to recognize Marshall amongst all the chaos, he practically hunted him down."

"He surely used a searching spell, and knowing Marshall he probably was announcing his presence to everyone who cared to listen."

Millicent nodded and resumed her lunch, after a few minutes someone sat beside Malfoy; he turned around to see a tired Nochland.

"Hey, how's all going?"

"Well, Harry's not waking up anytime soon, apparently he was drained of nearly all his magic, which didn't surprise me after seeing the chaos they did. I'll be checking on him, but now I feel totally spent. How's your wife?"

"Fine, she'll recover soon."

Malfoy felt eyes on him and turned to find Ron Weasley glaring at them again; Draco returned the glare and sneered.

"Seems like Weasley is looking for trouble."

Nochland raised her head and scowled.

"That git, he had the gal to go and tell me that I'm not allowed to visit Harry! As if I'd ever ask his opinion!"

"Nevertheless, don't go alone to visit Potter. Weasley never has been a reasonable person, now I have the impression that he is really dangerous."

"Don't worry; I'll have it in mind."

They continued eating, ignoring the persistent glares from the red-head.

&&&&&&&&&

Draco returned to the Hospital Wing after taking a much needed bath, the first thing he saw upon crossing the doors was Ron Weasley having a heated argument with Madam Pomfrey, just outside Hermione's room, Malfoy clenched his fists and approached them quickly, apparently Weasley wanted to see the Gryffindor girl.

"Mr. Weasley I assure you that she's fine and very soon she will be in a good enough condition to talk with whoever she likes, but right now she needs to rest!"

"It's not going to take long! I have to speak with her! It's important!"

"She is sleeping Mr. Weasley! She has yet to wake up and she won't do it until her body is fully recovered! She won't be able to listen to you!"

"Well, I'll wake her up! I need to talk with her right now; she doesn't know that we won and that the Slytherins are no longer needed! She can stop acting now and return to us!"

"Mr. Weasley, please don't be stubborn! It would be the same as when you visited Mr. Potter, he won't wake up only because you wanted him to talk with you, and neither will the girl. Besides, I have been asked to not let anyone in her room."

"What?! Who asked you that?!"

"I did."

Ron spun on his heels, ending up face to face with a supremely annoyed Draco Malfoy.

"Who do you think you are Malfoy?! You have no say on who can visit Hermione!"

Malfoy smirked evilly at the red-headed boy.

"As a matter of fact Weasley, I have every right to look out for my wife's well being, and that includes ensuring that her recovery won't be disturbed."

Ron's jaw hit the floor and he looked at Malfoy in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? You bastard, you're lying!"

"See it for yourself weasel" Malfoy showed him the ring on his right hand and smirked. "If you don't believe me you can go and ask your Head of House, she can tell you that there was nothing she could do to prevent our marriage."

"Of course I'm going to do it! And you're going to be very sorry Malfoy!"

Ron turned around and took two steps away before Malfoy stopped him, speaking in a low, dangerous tone.

"Weasley, I'm telling you this only once. I don't want to see you near my family, I don't want you to speak or even look at my wife ever again. I don't want her to associate with the likes of you. Do you understand?"

Ron half turned to give Malfoy a disgusted face.

"As if someone would want to be seen with such scum as the Malfoys"

"You wish you could be scum like us, Weasley."

Ron's fists were clenched viciously as his face reddened, and the boy proceeded to stomp away angrily. Malfoy lifted his chin, resuming his own walk towards Hermione's room. Madam Pomfrey only shook her head in annoyance and returned to her many patients.

Malfoy entered the room and lied heavily against the door, closing his eyes for a moment, enjoying the silence. He was surprised when said silence was interrupted by a faint moan and a whispered word.

"Draco?"

The blond straightened immediately, looking wide eyed at the bed, where Hermione was moving and trying to sit. Draco was beside her in an instant.

"'Mione. Take it easy."

He helped her to sit and arranged the pillows so she could support her back on them; the girl was a little confused by her surroundings. Malfoy touched her face and made her look his way; he was unnaturally calm about the situation.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um, fine. I think I'm fine" She looked over at him, she wasn't sure why but she had the impression that he should be upset and angry with her. Malfoy nodded and sighed, putting some distance between them; Hermione watched his every move, waiting for a possible explosion.

"Good. Good. That's really good."

Malfoy breathed heavily and closed his eyes; he increased the volume of his voice drastically for his next sentence.

"Because I'm going to KILL YOU!!!"

Hermione jumped and gaped at the now distraught Draco who started to gesticulate furiously while he yelled his explanation for the murderous intent.

"What the bloody Hell did you think you were doing?!! I told you in no uncertain terms to stay inside the castle!! You had no business running about the grounds in the way of possible lethal curses!! What happened to your supposed intelligence?!! Have you no brains at all?!!"

He paused to breath and Hermione started sobbing; now remembering what had happened.

"I-I'm sorry… I saw you and your father in the map… and I thought you needed help and I… I just…"

"I gave you that damn map for you to stay away from danger, not to go running right into it!!"

"So-sorry…"

She covered her face with her hands and started crying. Malfoy brushed his hair with his hands and felt better after finally venting all the worry and frustration that had been bottled inside him; he sat beside Hermione again and hugged her fiercely.

"You are gonna be the death of me."

"I was so scared… I thought I'd lose you…"

"Shh, it's all right now. In the future I'll remember: 'Hermione equals Gryffindor equals No sense of self-preservation; don't give her suspicious magical artifacts, especially those that could lead her in the path of danger.' I'm really surprised that you three, the so called golden trio, have survived this long."

Hermione giggled weakly and snuggled closer to her husband; but suddenly she stiffened and bolted upright.

"Oh my God! My baby!" she put her hands over her tummy, evidently distressed, Malfoy gave a suffering sigh.

"Now you think about him."

Hermione covered her face again and burst into tears.

"Hey, don't cry. It's all right 'Mione, he's fine."

Draco tucked the girl into his arms again, reassuring her that the baby was unharmed, Hermione was deeply upset.

"I didn't think about him! I'm a horrible mother!"

"You're not horrible, you were reckless that's all, and our son is fine, no harm came to him."

They stayed like that for some minutes, Malfoy doing his best to comfort Hermione, they were interrupted by the mediwitch entering to check on the girl, she did a quick diagnostic spell and reassured her that the baby was fine, the curse cast to her had been designed to froze the victim from the inside out, but thanks to the protective magic around the baby the curse didn't affect it.

Hermione finally calmed down and started to ask questions, Malfoy told her everything that he had learned and soon she was worrying over Potter's fate, the mediwitch told her that as soon as Harry waked up she would inform them of his condition, then she left them with some food for Hermione to eat and advised her to get more rest, Malfoy stayed with her for the rest of the day and made sure that the girl followed the mediwitch's instructions.

&&&&&&&&&&

Narcissa Malfoy arrived the next day, demanding to know why Severus had allowed her son to take such a big step as to marry without so much as a foreword to her, Snape and Draco had to hear her complains and worries, she was beside herself saying that there was no reason to precipitate things and that Draco could have well enough waited for the year to end to marry his girlfriend, as things surely would be more calm and they would have time to prepare a proper ceremony. Then her son mentioned Hermione's pregnancy and Narcissa suddenly understood his hurry, she calmed down then and forgave them for the precipitation, but Draco knew she was not satisfied, and suspected that as soon as the state of the war was cleared she would start to make pressure for an announcement and the consequent party.

&&&&&&&&&&

Dumbledore woke up two days later, unfortunately he wasn't sure of what had happened, he remembered the magic being too strong and getting out of control, he had felt all his magic being sucked out from him and being blinded by it, then he had lost consciousness. McGonagall had given the Headmaster the report of everything that had happened after the battle and informed that the ghosts were starting to be seen wandering around again and the house elves were still fearful to go to the upper floors of the castle.

Dumbledore only took a day to recover and then started to work and lead the school again, he was happy that the ministry had begun the reconstruction in Hogsmeade to recover the town and that the captured Death Eaters were waiting trial, many of the escapees had been captured also and the few that were still on the run weren't of Voldemort's inner circle. Some of the students that had supported Voldemort's ideals would have to face the consequences of that choice, especially Miss Parvati Patil who had accepted under veritaserum to be the one to fed Ron Weasley the Aprioris homus potion that had caused so much trouble; but fortunately some others had not actually joined the fight in the real battle and were able to correct their mistakes.

The castle was still crowded, some people had left, but the majority was waiting for confirmation of Voldemort's death, there had been searching parties looking for anything that could lead them to the Dark Lord, preferably his corpse, so far there had been no luck.

The students were released of their school duties and final tests suspended, though the fifth and seventh years had to wait until the Ministry set a date for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, everybody was relaxing and talking excitedly about the battle they had fought and encouraging the injured for a fast recovery.

Hermione had been released quickly from the Hospital Wing and she had started to make the necessary arrangements for her mother to return to the muggle world, London's government had been working on recovering the zone of the city that had been attacked but Mrs. Granger had voiced her decision to go live with some of her relatives, so Hermione had contacted her aunt and had told her what her mother wanted, her aunt had been relieved to hear that her sister and nephew were alive, she had heard of the massive destruction and had assumed they were dead. Hermione berated herself for not having thought about the rest of her family earlier, and she apologized with her aunt. Mrs. Granger soon was back to the muggle world with Hermione's promise to visit frequently.

Two weeks after Dumbledore's recovery; Hermione went to the now nearly empty Hospital Wing for a check up. St. Mungos' was already back to work and they had transferred most of the patients there as they would be more comfortable and would be better attended. Hermione entered hand in hand with Draco, happily caressing her more rounded tummy, and went straight to Madam Pomfrey for the check up, the blond Slytherin waited patiently while the mediwitch gave them a diet that Hermione would have to follow in order to not get overweight. When the elder witch was finished Malfoy hugged his wife and started to walk with her towards the Hospital doors, they had made half their way when a door suddenly opened and Nochland came out calling for help.

"Oh God, it's Harry's room!"

"Try to find the Headmaster, quickly!"

Draco ran to the distraught girl and entered the room, followed closely by Seamus who had been there to visit Neville, both boys had to cover their ears to protect them from the high pitched shriek that Harry was doing as he trashed in the bed.

"Shit! What's the matter with him?"

"Hold him down Finnegan! He's going to hurt himself!"

Malfoy saw Harry's head hit the headboard twice without diminishing the trashing, he and Seamus got over him and tried their best to hold Harry still, the dark-haired boy's strength took them by surprise and both of them landed hard on the floor twice before they managed to secure Harry's arms, Draco leaned all his weight on the Gryffindor's upper torso, trying to prevent him from hitting the headboard again, barely hearing the mediwitch entering and telling Seamus to hold Harry's legs.

"What the Hell is going on?!"

Malfoy turned his head a fraction to see Ron standing at the doorway, he didn't answer, Potter was consuming all his stamina at the moment and he didn't want to waste any of it in useless words, Seamus seemed happy to see the red-head.

"Ron! Come on give us a hand!"

Weasley made a disgusted face at Malfoy who had received an elbow to his gut and was fighting to breathe without losing hold of Potter.

"What's he doing here?! He has no right!"

"What are you talking about? Help us!"

"I'm not going to be near him!" Ron said pointing a finger to Draco, Seamus looked at him in disbelief.

"For Merlin's sake Ron!! Would you drop it already?!! This isn't about your stupid feud with Malfoy!! Harry needs you!!"

Ron glared at him, but grudgingly approached to help, Madam Pomfrey was trying to cast a spell on Harry so he would calm down, quite suddenly a wave of magic surged from Potter's body and send all of them crashing into the walls.

Draco landed heavily on his arse, cursing under his breath at stupid Gryffindors that couldn't have their magic under control, he opened his eyes and glared at the bed where Potter had resumed his yelling and trashing, he got quickly on his feet when he noticed that the boy was rolling around to the edge of the bed and ran over to him, Draco caught Harry before his head hit the floor and tried to return him on the bed, unfortunately for the blond Harry chose that moment to went still as a board seconds before throwing up.

"Damn it!! Potter!! This is disgusting!!"

Harry started shaking uncontrollably and started trashing again when Malfoy managed to lie him down. Draco was on the mind to cast a full body-bind spell when Lupin, Snape and Dumbledore arrived and sent the youngsters outside, the three boys exited the room, leaving the adults to deal with Harry.

Once outside Malfoy scourgified his robes and collected himself, Hermione instantly started to ask questions.

"Draco, what's happening?!"

"Apparently Potter is having some kind of attack. Nochland what happened?"

"Nothing, I was just sitting by his side when he suddenly started to scream."

Seamus approached them, still aching from the impact on the wall.

"Hell, that was quite an outburst."

"Are you alright Seamus?"

"Yeah, only a few kicks, I'm lucky I wasn't close to his mouth."

"Shut up Finnegan!"

Seamus grinned at Malfoy's disgusted expression and then turned to look at Ron, who was leaning against the door to Harry's room, pointedly refusing to look at them, Seamus sighed in defeat and Hermione bit her lips in nervousness, unsure if she should go and try to talk to the red-head, Draco put his arm around her waist and dragged her to a set of chairs to sit down, Nochland and Finnegan followed them and together they waited patiently for someone to come out of the room with news about Harry's condition.

They didn't have to wait long, after fifteen minutes the adults came out, Madam Pomfrey quickly assured them that Harry was alright and that he was sleeping now, Lupin and Snape hurried to exit the Hospital Wing and Dumbledore stayed to explain things.

"Is Harry going to be alright professor?"

"Yes my girl yes, apparently his state of coma had been produced because of his bond with Voldemort, it seems that Harry and Riddle had been sharing Harry's vital energy, which leads us to the supposition that Voldemort has not enough to sustain himself."

"Oh God."

"Does that mean that as long as Potter lives, the Dark Lord will too?" asked Draco darkly, the rest of the students gasped at the implications.

"That would be the case if Harry's magic had not been so severely depleted during the battle and had have enough energy left to sustain two bodies, but fortunately for us Harry's own vital energy is at the point of exhaustion, so it's not enough to complete the necessary bond between him and Voldemort for the dark wizard to have a full recovery, Harry's magic finally kicked in and in order for Harry to survive it has severed the bond with Voldemort, there should be nothing left of it now, so our boy can finally start to recover."

"Oh, that's great!"

"How do we know that the bond is completely gone?"

"Well Mr. Malfoy, the only evidence of that bond was Harry's scar on his forehead and now it has disappeared."

The students gaped for an instant before reacting to the news.

"Gone? Completely?"

"Yes Mr. Finnegan."

"That's good news! Harry hated his scar!"

"Wonderful, now I'll have to find another derogative name for him." Said Malfoy rolling his eyes in mock annoyance, Hermione elbowed him on his ribs warning him to stop teasing. Nochland still had another question.

"Mmm, but what about the Dark Lord? Does that mean that he's gone for good?"

"We have the chance to find out as Harry has just given us his location, he tried to apparate away but surprisingly he's not really far from here; he never left the forbidden forest. Now if you excuse me, I have to inform the Minister of magic of this development, Harry will be ready for visits when Madam Pomfrey deems it fit. Mr. Weasley, please come with me and help me find your mother."

Ron opened his mouth in disbelief but the Headmaster accepted no excuses from him, the old man didn't want to risk a confrontation in the Hospital Wing now that things were working out just fine, he took the young red-head with him and left the rest of the students to spread the news of Harry's imminent recovery to everyone in the school.

&&&&&&&&&

Lupin, Snape and Shacklebolt found Voldemort's body in the afternoon, or more precisely what was left of it, inside a cave. It resembled a dried mummy, all crippled and burned; just beside it they found the remains of a big snake that apparently had met the same end as Voldemort. The news soon traveled along the wizarding world and everybody could finally throw themselves into the big celebration.

&&&&&&&&&

On the first week of Harry's recovery he had to suffer through a shouting match between Ron and Lilith Agracon; the Weasley boy had been verbally abusing Nochland in order to get her to stop visiting Harry until the girl's friends had finally have enough and decided to talk with the boy. Harry had been trying to get Ron to accept that he liked Artemisa, but the red-head had not wanted to listen and the "talk" had quickly become an insult-trading contest until Madam Pomfrey had had enough and in the end kicked out the lot of them.

After that, visits to Harry had been conditioned to require an adult present during them, it usually was Remus the one who chaperoned and the black-haired boy considered it his most embarrassing experience ever in the Hospital Wing.

Life went slowly back to normal and Harry was up and about after three weeks of bed.

The Ministry finally scheduled the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and Hermione, despite her now obvious pregnancy put everyone she could into intensive study sessions... soon Draco and Harry both were wistfully missing the Hospital Wing. The tests were a nightmare and everyone was relieved when they finished.

Hogsmeade train station was one of the firsts establishments to be reopened, just in time for the fifth and seventh years to return home after they were done with the tests, Draco and Hermione shared the train compartment with Harry, Blaise, Millicent, Goyle and Neville. Harry was going to stay at Grimauld place for a while with Remus Lupin, just enough to be sure that it was cleaned of dark magical artifacts, then he was going to give it over to Dumbledore for the man to do with it whatever he wanted, Harry hardly cared as long as he didn't have anything to do with the house anymore, he was going to find a place of his own to live, he was thinking about a cottage in the country, Mrs. Weasley had offered him to stay in the burrow, but the situation with Ron was far from getting better and Harry chose to distance himself in order to lessen the tension.

Ginny on her part had come to talk with Harry and Hermione before going back to the burrow with the twins and her parents, the girl had apologized for her attitude and actions, she still didn't like the idea of Harry and Hermione choosing Slytherins for partners and still thought that those relationships were bound to end in disaster, but she had accepted that it was their decision to make and that her reaction had been uncalled for. Harry and Hermione accepted her apologies and the three had left in friendly terms.

Harry was glad that Ginny had come around; he supposed that Dean's death had much to do with it. Ron on the contrary had acted as if Hermione didn't exist and after the scene in the Hospital with the Slytherin girls he had accused Harry of having preferred an easy shag over their friendship, Harry had been really angry and had decided that he wouldn't try to fix things with Ron anymore, the two ex-best friends had not crossed word since then.

The travel was quiet but comfortable, Nochland and Anthera had returned to their respective homes some days before due to them not having to present O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s, Harry had promised to visit Artemisa frequently. Blaise on his part had really no place to go, he was disowned and both his parents were waiting trial, the Zabini's states and fortune were being checked out by the Ministry and if Blaise wanted to recover something he would have to wait after the trial and then it would only be a small part of the fortune, because he was sure that the rest of the family wouldn't be too happy to have him back with them. Blaise was fine with the situation, he would be much better without his family anyway; he was going to stay at Malfoy's manor for a while until he found a job and a place for himself. Millicent and her mother were going to return to their home, free of Mr. Bulstrode's influence at last. Goyle senior was awaiting trial but Mrs. Goyle had managed to escape suspicions and to save a good part of the family fortune from the Ministry's clutches by cooperating in the investigation and giving away proofs of her husband's activities, she had written to her son, telling him that he was free to return to their home and Gregory was happy for it.

Draco was holding Hermione's sleeping form at his side and looking distractedly out of the window, he had been really surprised to see that Potter and Longbottom were willing to share the compartment with the Slytherins, Neville and Greg seemed to have developed some kind of friendship and were talking animatedly about plans for the summer and future jobs, Potter and Blaise were getting along just nice and had been discussing the pros and cons of playing Quidditch professionally. Draco was just content with hearing them, the last month had left him spent and there was still hard work waiting for him at the manor, he would have to deal with what his father left behind, family business included, fortunately he had the good will of the Ministry and things weren't looking so bad; he would have to afford a house for his mother too, Narcissa had announced that she was not going to live in the manor any longer, she wanted to move to a place near the beach, after all there could only be one Mrs. Malfoy at the manor, that was the proper thing.

And of course, they had still a party to throw, Narcissa would not tolerate that her son's marriage passed unnoticed, that would definitely not be considered right by their pureblood acquaintances and Draco really wanted to formally present the new Mrs. Malfoy to the wizarding world, it would be in a week, there was plenty of time to recover from the intellectual drain of the N.E.W.T.s and to prepare for spending a full day of formalities and social alliances.

Draco looked again at the sleeping figure of Hermione and moved a little to better cuddle her, he fondly thought about his unborn son and half smiled thinking of how spoiled a child he would be. To think that he had once planned to be dead by now! Luckily he was still around; his ghost would have been pretty upset if it had realized how much life was still worth living. Now he was thinking nonsense, his brain must be tired, he was about to drift into sleep when he noticed that the compartment was unnaturally quiet, he focused his eyesight on Blaise and Potter who were sitting in front of him, both looking really amused and smirking, Millicent was sleeping at their side and Draco couldn't see Longottom and Goyle but he was fairly sure that they too were staring at him. He frowned at the boys he could see without moving, where the hell had Potter learned to smirk like that?

"What?" he said somewhat aggressively, the boy's smirks widened.

"Nothing Malfoy" said Harry happily.

"You look so cute!" said a grinning Blaise mockingly. Malfoy blinked in shock a few times before deciding that he didn't have enough energy to move and hex Blaise and Potter, so he settled to glare at them and stuck out his tongue.

"Fuck up Blaise. Jealous idiots, go find your own women."

And he snuggled even more in the comfortable seat with Hermione, closing his eyes and blocking out the laughs that could be heard. He made a mental note to coax Alice's parents into allowing Blaise to live with them for a while. He wasn't going to be able to stand his friend's teasing for as long as it would take for the boy to find some other place to live.

Eventually the laughs died out and the chattering resumed itself. Draco once again relaxed and drifted to sleep, he was sure that the others would wake them up once they arrived to Kingcross station. He barely felt Hermione moving to get in a more comfortable position before he felt her weight over him and his arms automatically got around her body, one of his hands slightly caressing her belly.

As he was lulled to sleep by the voices around him and the movement of the train, Draco remembered the waltz he had danced with Hermione in the dungeons some months ago and a smile crept into his lips remembering a particular line of the lyrics.

"_Yo andaba buscando la muerte… cuando me encontré contigo…"_

"_I was looking for death… when I found you…"_

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Yes, only the Epilogue left and that would be all!


	28. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace on the main hall of Malfoy manor, cursing stupid lawyers that couldn't solve minor financial problems and had to drag him out of his home on important days. He left his cloak on its usual place and called for the house-elf.

"Winky!"

A pop was heard and the creature jumped over excitedly in front of him. His mother had brought this particular elf from Hogwarts, it had been a gift from Dumbledore for Draco and Hermione's weeding, and apparently it had been suffering depression because it longed to take care of a family.

Draco had never before considered the possibility of a house-elf experimenting depression, Winky certainly hadn't shown traces of it since she had been living in the manor, the female elf had been ecstatic when she had realized there would be a baby to take care of.

"Yes Master Malfoy Sir!"

"Winky I don't want any more disturbances today, if someone calls you tell them that I'm not available, I don't care if they say it's important, not even if someone had found a way to revive Voldemort, you understand?"

"Yes Master Malfoy! Mistress is waiting in the garden with guests."

Draco nodded and walked towards the back garden, confident that he would not have any more interruptions; he wanted to just enjoy his second son's first birthday party and forget about the rest of the world. He got out from the house and quickly scanned the gardens, pleased that all the guests were well attended and looking for his wife.

The gardens of Malfoy manor were huge. A big part of them was reserved for exotic plants and there were trees scattered all over the extension of it. There was a zone clear of plants where only grass covered the ground and where the children could run free, said zone had been adorned for the party with lots of balloons, fairies and magic hangings. A bunch of children were running about the clearing or playing at the swings, the sand box or with the toy brooms and wands provided. There was even a mini pool full of balls. The older kids were getting in and out of a maze made of thick vines which had obstacles, mud traps and fake monsters that were easy for the children to vanish.

Malfoy's eyes wandered over the place to where they had arranged the garden furniture. Most of the parents were there contently relaxing while their offspring ran wild about the garden; Draco spotted his mother talking animatedly with his godfather and Mrs. Granger. Hermione's mother still sported an awful scar that ran over the entire right side of her body, face included, and she moved about on a muggle wheel-chair, but apart from that she had recovered enough to live an almost independent life and she was a loving grandmother.

Malfoy smiled to his mother when Narcissa's eyes met his and then continued looking. Goyle and Longbottom were talking over Goyle's wife, who was cradling her four month old son lovingly. Some chairs away he spotted Lilith, Alice and a very pregnant Artemisa; the blond man wondered where their respective husbands were.

'Misa looked his way and waved a hand in greeting, Draco waved back and was about to go over to their table when someone grabbed his arm. He turned around to look into the gorgeous dark eyes of his wife.

"Finally, you're here. What did Mr. Laurens want?"

Malfoy smirked and kissed her temple while answering.

"Nothing really important, he's incompetent, I'll replace him with someone who can actually solve minor problems by himself than bother me every time something looks amiss."

"Well, you're in time for lunch. I'll start serving it in about half an hour."

"Why don't you let the elf take care of that?"

"Winky already has much work to do, and she helped making sandwiches and pumpkin juice for the children. I don't want her overworked. Now why don't you go greet our guests?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes at his wife but smiled and just let her be.

The house-elf had been the very first disagreement they had have in their marriage, as soon as the couple had set foot on the manor, newly arrived from King's Cross station, the creature had popped before them to bow and present itself to its new masters. After a second of shock Hermione had immediately raged about elves' rights, slavery and such things.

Luckily for Malfoy, Harry had seen fit to give him a '_parent talk_' in the absence of Mr. Granger, and had mentioned Hermione's somewhat extravagant ideas regarding house-elves, so the blond had been expecting her outburst and had an explanation about house-elves' nature ready.

Hermione hadn't wanted to be convinced, apparently she had met Winky before and considered that the creature had been badly wronged, which actually served to Draco's cause as he pointed out to her that the elf had now a new chance with a new family and that they could mend things over and make it possible for the tiny creature to be happy. Hermione had considered it and seeing Winky's eagerness to be accepted in the house she had relented, but she still didn't allow for the elf to have too much work.

Malfoy looked at his wife while she entered the manor again and left her to do whatever preparations were needed for lunch, he turned his attention towards the garden again and soon spotted Blaise with an ex-housemate, Andrew, Lilith's husband, and near the maze he could see Potter with a glass of pumpkin juice in one hand and talking to Bill Weasley.

The Weasleys were still on good terms with Hermione but Bill was the only one that Draco actually liked; he and his wife Fleur visited the manor frequently for business and Fleur and Hermione had grown to be good friends.

Besides Bill, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley visited briefly, they rarely heard word about Percy and Charlie, Hermione visited the twins once in a while during shopping trips to Diagon Alley and Ginny had finally gotten over her crush with Potter and had moved away to France.

She was due to marry during the next month and Malfoy was desperately looking for any excuse that could prevent them from going to the celebration. He had no desire for Hermione to get in touch again with the little red-headed bitch, in his opinion his wife and Potter had been too lenient forgiving Ginny's attitude over the years, besides, they may encounter Ronald… Draco didn't feel capable of restraining himself from hitting the red-head with every curse he knew the moment he saw him.

Ron Weasley had never fully recovered from the _Aprioris_ _Homus_ potion, but a few months after leaving school he had started to behave almost normally, he had looked for Potter and of course, the black-haired wizard, being the Gryffindor he was had listened to his long time friend's apologizes and had decided to give him another chance. Ron had tried to talk with Hermione and Harry had coaxed her to go listen to him without telling Draco.

The reunion hadn't gone well, in the beginning it had seemed that Ron was willing to accept that Hermione was married to Malfoy and lived happily with her husband and new born son; the girl had almost hoped that they could have the old Ron back again, until the red-head had started to drop hints of how much better Hermione would be if she had married Weasley instead of Malfoy and how it was still time to correct the mistake, the girl had understood then that their friendship would never be fully reestablished and had returned home saddened by that.

Still Draco hadn't know what had happened and it would have stayed that way if Ron hadn't attempted to kidnap Hermione some days later during one of her trips to Diagon Alley. He had successfully apparated her and baby Ryan, who was in her arms, to the Burrow and locked them in a room while he went for some money, telling her that they were going to leave the runt behind. Hermione had been shocked for about two seconds before blasting the door open and going to the kitchen in fury, nearly giving Mrs. Weasley a heart-attack and breaking in tears in the matron's arms.

To say that Draco had been furious was an understatement, the only thing that had prevented the blond from murdering Ronald was that Hermione had already sent him to St. Mungos' and after that the Weasleys took great care in keeping the problematic young man far away from the Malfoys. Charlie even took his brother to Romania with him to let things cool down and hoping that Ron would forget his obsession. However everyone knew that Ron would be dead if Malfoy ever laid eyes on him again.

Draco shook his head to clear it from weasel's thoughts and walked over to join Blaise and Andrew, the two ex-Slytherins greeted him and continued their conversation, every once in a while the three men stole glances towards the play zone, checking on their respective children. Draco soon spotted his younger son, Ethan, who along with another boy and two girls was getting all dirty in the sand box, though, what the aforementioned box contained was not sand any more, it seemed like it now had a suspiciously slimy pink substance. Surely one of the children had just had a spark of accidental magic, but despite being covered with whatever the material was the curly locks of white-blond hair of the boy were still visible.

Draco smiled fondly at his child before continuing listening to Blaise.

Ethan had inherited his looks after his father; he had Malfoy's features, grey eyes and white-blond hair which was a bit curly, undoubtedly a trait he got from his mother. Their first born, Ryan, had brown eyes and straight dark blond hair, Draco always had the impression that Ryan even pouted like Hermione.

While thinking about his older son, Draco noticed a little troop of children emerging from the maze. Five year old Ryan at the front was closely followed by a red-headed child, Arthur, the older one of Bill's children. Next came two identical black boys, Blaise's children. Draco was still somewhat amused by the fact that Blaise and Alice had managed to have twins.

And last of all there was a little girl with black, messy hair. Potter's first born.

Draco scowled worriedly at the girl for a moment, but she seemed to be fine. He always wondered why the little brat insisted on following the four older boys wherever they went rather than stay behind with other nice girls her age. Granted, the boys weren't so much bigger or older than her, Ryan and Arthur were five and the twins four, Potter's girl was three years old and already a trouble-maker same as her father, but the boys were not saints and they liked to play rough sometimes. Elaine frequently ended up with scars but she insisted on following them and cried if for some reason she was prevented of doing so.

At that moment, Hermione's amplified voice announced that lunch and cake were ready and called the children to eat. Some parents had to step aside to avoid the horde of brats running to the promise of cake; some were stopped by worried mothers that insisted on cleaning their offspring before letting them sit at the table. Draco smiled at Ryan when the boy brought his disheveled little brother before him.

"Dad! Bro can't eat cake! He's slimy!"

Little Ethan laughed and hugged his brother who immediately looked horrified and tried to disentangle himself.

"Ugg!! No 'than! You got me slimy too!"

Draco smiled at his sons' antics and with a move of his wand got them both clean.

"There, you can go now to eat."

Ryan grinned and happily dragged his baby brother towards the table where their mother was waiting for them. The majority of the children stayed at the table long enough to have a bite or two of the sandwiches and to devour a piece of cake and then promptly ran over to the play zone again. Some mothers were mortified, and Draco was amused to see that Longbottom's wife just ran flustered about the garden following her hyperactive three year old daughter, trying to get her to finish at least one sandwich.

When all the children vacated the table the grown ups finished their lunch, and Hermione brought over a salad, tuna-fish snacks and butterbeer for complement. After eating, Draco returned to chat with Blaise while quietly surveying the children. This kind of parties were a mess, no wonder his own father never allowed something like this to happen in the manor. Malfoy looked over the garden at his guests; Lucius would be furious if he saw this, just imagine, beyond the party there was Bill Weasley, a Weasley in Malfoy manor! Not to mention Potter, a few other Gryffindors like Longbottom and Draco's muggleborn wife. Lucius must surely be squirming in his grave.

Draco was indulging in those thoughts when Potter's loud complaint reached his ears.

"Malfoy! Your son is picking on my girl!"

Draco sighed, it was always the same, what could Potter expect if Elaine was always following the boys? He turned over to him wondering what it would be this time. Did one of them pulled on her hair? Or had she fell and no one waited for her to stand and continue running? He looked at an annoyed Harry holding up a screaming Elaine who was rubbing her eyes like mad.

"What is it Potter?"

"Your son pushed her away!"

"He did?"

The girl almost sobbed.

"I… I… wana go in the maze!!"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow and looked over to the maze, sure enough the four boys were there, seemingly preparing an assault on the place, Draco understood, surely the boys were playing war or something like that and they didn't want the little girl following them around, he returned to look at the upset child.

"Elaine, they're boys and it looks like they're going to be fighting and doing all kind of damage to whatever gets in their way… You can get hurt you know?"

"Don' care!... I wana play!"

Draco scowled at the loud girl and then at her father.

"You know, this is your fault Potter."

"Mine? It's your son who pushed her!"

"And who lets her go around messing with the boys? She always ends with scratches and scrapped knees!"

"Your son should be careful when she's playing with them!"

"Ryan? It's her the one that should be careful!"

"He's older Malfoy! He should take care of her!"

"What the hell! Why should he?! She's not his sister!"

"Why you!!"

They glared at each other while Elaine continued screaming, it was getting on Malfoy's nerves, and he wished Artemisa was there with them, she would never tolerate such a display from her child!

"Fine! Just to get her to shut up! Ryan!!"

The boy straightened his head from where he had been busy drawing a strategy on the ground and looked over to his father.

"Come here Ryan!"

The boy stood up reluctantly and walked over to where his father and "Uncle Harry" were.

"Ryan, you pushed Elaine away?"

"We didn't!" cried the boy indignantly. "We told her to wait outside! We're gonna fight dragons, she cannot come!"

Dragons? Draco couldn't remember dragons being in the maze; Potter looked slightly amused and tried to reason with the boy.

"Surely she can go with you and see how you're doing it."

Ryan looked scandalized.

"'Course not! What if she screams and frightens them?"

Harry raised his eyebrows in disbelief while Malfoy pressed his lips together in an effort to not laugh.

"I'm sure it would be ok Ryan, just let her follow you."

"But dad, she's going to slow us down!"

"You don't have to wait for her, you can continue your way and she'll eventually find you."

Harry glared at him.

"Malfoy!"

"What?" He looked over innocently at Potter, the black-haired man was about to rage at him.

"Alright." Said Ryan rolling over his eyes. "But if a dragon eats her it's not our fault!"

"Sure son; now Elaine, stop the screaming and go with them!"

As if by magic the girl shut up and grinned widely, her dark eyes were red from all the rubbing but not a single tear had been shed, Malfoy scowled at the two children while they made their way towards the rest of the group, he could see that the other three boys were less than happy with the news.

"The little brat, I swear she does that on purpose just to annoy them."

"Don't be ridiculous Draco; she's only three, why would she do that?"

"Well, she's your daughter Potter."

Harry glared daggers at him, but both men turned to watch Ryan arrange his little troop on a line and then face the entrance to the maze, the boy raised his arm and the children charged to their objective with a war scream, little Elaine following them excitedly, screaming just as loudly.

The parents shook their heads in amazement and then proceeded to argue whether it was proper and safe for a girl to play with the boys or not, knowing full well that whatever they said would not be taken in consideration by Elaine.

&&&&&&&&&

That evening, Malfoy and the last of his guests were enjoying tea in the sitting room, waiting for Hermione to return from her mother's home. Artemisa, Alice, Lilith and Fleur were talking animatedly about baby stuff while their husbands talked about Quidditch and remembered old times. Draco looked over at one corner of the room, where Potter was happily playing with the children, the blond was amused at the ease with which Harry lowered himself to the rugrats' level, the children simply loved to play with Uncle Harry.

Draco frowned at the man presently doing a rather ridiculous imitation of a horse. He still didn't know what had possessed him to allow Potter to enter his home and come in close contact with his sons, the man's behavior was not very reliable and Draco had not yet forgiven him for the "Ron episode". Still, Potter had slowly and definitely wormed his way into the manor and their lives without Malfoy knowing how exactly it had happened; he supposed that being married to Potter's best friend had something to do with it and the fact that Hermione and Artemisa had grown close sure must have helped.

Draco sighed and returned to his conversation with the more mature men in the room. After a while the fireplace lit up and Hermione arrived home, just in time to say goodbye to Andrew and Lilith who were taking their tired three year old daughter home for bed.

As soon as the ex-slytherins were off, Fleur leaned into her husband's ear and suggested to go too. Bill nodded and started saying his goodbyes while his wife went over one of the larger coaches where their two year old daughter was sleeping peacefully. Arthur protested that he wanted to continue playing but his father pointed out that it was getting late and even though the children were still playing loudly it was clear that they were starting to feel exhausted. Fleur went over to Hermione to say good bye.

"That was a lovely party 'Mione, you're very good."

"Thank you Fleur, I'll be seeing you later."

"Of course."

"Blaise, I think we should be going too." Said Alice, her husband nodded and accompanied her to retrieve the twins, who protested between yawns that they were not tired yet, their mother looked amused at their half closed eyes.

"Come now Leo, Philip, you can continue your game the next time you visit."

She lifted a twin while Blaise took the other, the man looked over at the mess the children had been doing with their toys and smirked to Draco.

"You know, you should start a child care service, seeing that all these brats practically live here."

"Just because the lot of you, as their parents, see fit to drop them here! Potter's house is just as big as mine, why don't you leave your progeny there?!"

"Are you nuts? I don't trust that crazy house-elf he has, and it's a nice house but the beach is too close for my comfort, besides, your garden is bigger and you are my sons' godfather, so bear with it!"

"Great! I'm stuck with your little nuisances because I have the best house! That's wonderful!"

"Oh, don't fret Draco." Said Hermione, joining the two best friends. "You love to have the children around, you even complained when Harry said that he was considering to have Elaine booked on a kindergarten."

"Of course I did! No goddaughter of mine is going to a muggle school!"

Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's extravagance. He had wanted Hermione to be his daughter's godmother and of course Malfoy had come with the package, he didn't really mind, Draco was good with the children, even though he still insisted on keeping up the proper appearances and tended to put on his cold façade when in public.

Harry had no doubt of Malfoy's love and devotion to his family. The savior of the wizarding world knew that the only thing that had prevented Draco from doing him bodily harm when he had stupidly tried to revive Ron and Hermione's friendship, was that Hermione had talked on his behalf.

Still he had been banned from Malfoy's manor for a long time despite Hermione's complains to Draco that he was being childish and ridiculous. It had taken Bill's sworn oath that Ron was far away in Romania, and Artemisa's reassurances that she had verbally pummeled her then fiancé, and that she was not going to let him do anything stupid again. In the end, Harry had been reduced to beg for forgiveness and Draco had grudgingly allowed him to visit Hermione again.

Malfoy and Harry had spent some time avoiding each other and then back to their childish quarrels until Hermione had had enough and had forced them to talk and solve their problems. Of course they had yelled at each other and to Hermione for the most part of the "talk" but eventually they had gotten out of their systems everything that had needed to be said between the two and had started to act like grown ups and responsible adults… for the most part…

Given time they got to know each other and to establish some kind of friendship. Hermione had been most pleased when Harry had asked them to be his daughter's godparents and even more when Ethan had been born and Draco had actually proposed Harry to be his godfather, thus actually ending years of Slytherin-Gryffindor enmity and leaving testament of their new acquired friendship. Harry smiled briefly at the memories and then proceeded to say good bye to Bill and get hold of his daughter, preparing to leave too.

The Potters were the last to go, Harry holding both a sleeping Elaine and his pregnant wife lovingly as they apparated away. Apparition was not normally safe for a pregnant woman, but Harry had enough power to ensure that all of them made it to their destiny without complications. Artemisa hated the floo in her condition; she got nauseous every time she tried it.

When they were finally alone, Draco called for the house-elf to clean the room and then turned to see Hermione cradling their baby boy and Ryan yawning at her side. He smiled to them and took his firstborn into his arms, and both parents carried their exhausted children upstairs to their respective bedrooms.

&&&&&&&&

After a quick shower to get him rid of dirt, Draco helped Ryan to change on his pajamas and tucked the boy in bed, handing him his favorite plush toy, a leopard that had seen better days, Blaise had gifted it to the child on his very first birthday and Ryan had fell in love with it immediately and never again let go of the stuffed toy. Draco had not been amused at Blaise's choice of animal but at least it had not been a lion.

Ryan asked for a story but Draco had not even opened the book to find a suitable tale when the boy had been sleeping soundly. Draco smiled fondly at his son and returned the book to its rightful place in a bookcase near the bed, then he rearranged the blankets around his child's little form and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.

Five years. Five years of a normal happy life. Malfoy smirked remembering that some of the pureblood wizards that had been attending their marriage party had assured that they wouldn't make the week together. The poor fools, what would they know? Draco loved his family, his children were perfect and he had the most beautiful and intelligent wife that one could wish. Of course they had had their fights and disagreements and they'd like to kill each other once in a while, which couple wouldn't? But they had always found a way around the many differences between them. They were happy.

Malfoy turned on the night light that was on his son's bedside table and scowled at the picture resting there. It showed him and Hermione cuddling in the train compartment of Hogwarts' express, both of them fast asleep and Draco seemed to be snoring. He huffed at the image, if he had known that Blaise had borrowed Alice's blasted camera he sure as hell hadn't have fallen asleep! The only reason for the picture to be framed and exposed was because Ryan had found it about a year ago while he rummaged in his mother's old trunk, looking for interesting things that he could use as toys, he had liked the picture and had begged to be allowed to keep it, and everybody knew that Draco couldn't say no to his child.

So the picture had been framed and Ryan had took immense delight in telling to anyone that would listen how much his mommy and daddy loved each other while showing the picture and pointing out that he had been inside mommy at the time. It had been a bit embarrassing but Draco had not have the heart to make his son stop and endured the amused looks of countless of different people until Ryan had let the picture to rest.

Malfoy sighed and shook his head in mild amusing; his children were going to be the death of him. He smiled again at the little bundle in the bed and noticed that Crookshanks had curled on his usual spot at the child's feet. Hermione's cat had resulted to be part kneazle and it had taken to Ryan from the very start. Draco wasn't sure that letting pets to sleep in the same bed as children was healthy, but he had learned in the hard way that a kneazle always had his way, and had discovered that the thing had indeed sharp claws.

Draco sighed again and caressed his son's soft hair for a while, then got quietly out of the bedroom in search of his wife.

&&&&&&&&

Hermione looked lovingly at her baby boy while he hugged his favorite stuffed dragon in his sleep, she loved her children and she was grateful for the life she lived as Mrs. Malfoy.

It had not been easy, the Malfoys after all had always been among the highest social circles and there were still some things that Hermione's raising just didn't grasp, she didn't see the sense to all the formality and protocol, social attendance at Ministry or important families' reunions were sometimes the minor of her worries. Add to this the fact that never before had been a "contamination" to the Malfoy bloodline, the most conservative pureblooded families had seen her marriage with scorn and looked upon her with pressed lips, but Hermione soon discovered that a bonus of being a Malfoy was that no one dared to said a thing about it.

It was rather satisfying to walk around a hall on her husband's arm and wave in the purebloods faces how happy they were and that their blood purity prejudices were obsolete. The only real problem Hermione had had regarding her marriage had come from the manor itself. The portraits of generations of Malfoys were truly scandalized at the notion of a mudblood in the manor, their discomfort turned to rage when they realized that said mudblood was in fact the Mistress of the manor.

Hermione had endured a complete day of insults and threats from several portraits until Draco had burned to ashes the first portrait who had dared to insult his wife in front of him, said portrait had resulted to be his great-great-grandfather. From that moment on the portraits shut their mouths in front of the Master of the manor, and to ensure that they'll behave in his absence Malfoy did a special dark spell, cursing them all into silence. The portraits had been enraged but no longer able to make their discomfort known and the couple had been satisfied with that.

Work had been an issue at some time, Hermione had first considered to get a job at the Ministry, but soon had realized that it was not for her, now that she was a Malfoy every employer would be looking for her favor and she didn't want to deal with the political machinations of greedy ministry agents.

The Malfoys owned several states and profitable business, some of which included production and process of potion's ingredients, dealing of magic artifacts and mines that provided precious stones for some of the most prestige jewelries. Hermione didn't feel particularly attracted to help manage the family businesses, though she did it from time to time to help Draco.

The girl had been almost desperate to find something in which she could put her knowledge to work and Fleur came up with a solution, she had quit working for Gringotts in order to spend more time with her son and she had started to research ancient spells and was trying to improve modern ones, she wanted to create new spells and charms. Hermione happily joined her and the two of them had started a kind of magic lab, they even did Arithmancy charts on occasion for some establishments that required them.

Hermione looked at the pile of gifts that her baby had received and smiled, she had two very spoiled boys, three if you take their father into account, but it was ok, they had rules too and even when the children knew that they had their father around their little fingers, they also knew that if they misbehaved or do very bad things they'd had to face punishment, and no amount of puppy dog's eyes would move Draco when he had to correct his offspring.

Yes, Draco loved his boys. Hermione looked at Ethan and thought about the effort it had taken to convince Draco to have another baby, he had not even considered the possibility, having been an only child himself he just was used to have it that way. When Hermione had mentioned the convenience to give Ryan a sibling Draco actually had asked "What for?" And his wife had felt frustrated and had ranted for weeks about how spoiled Ryan was and that she won't have her son to become a bully and a prat like his father had been, besides, she didn't want the boy to play all alone in the big house, contrary to what Blaise had mentioned, the other boys didn't "practically live" in the manor, they only visited frequently, it was not the same as to have a sibling.

Finally Draco had understood the point and they had have Ethan, granted it had been quite an accomplishment, Hermione didn't know why but it took almost two years for her to get pregnant, Draco had blamed it entirely on the house, he couldn't prove it but he was sure that the ancient manor had some dark magic running through its walls that prevented the Malfoy women to get pregnant more than once.

Surprisingly Narcissa had agreed with her son, pointing out how Lucius never had wanted to be intimate when they were away from the manor, it was a tradition in Malfoy family that they only had one heir, the few Malfoy couples that had have two children had been because their first born had been a girl.

So Hermione and Draco had spent a week of vacations in Greece and Ethan had been conceived. Hermione had felt so satisfied to have fooled the ancient Malfoy traditions than she had walked trough the manor with her two boys, making a point of telling Ryan the names of every portrait they found and thus showing off her offspring to the indignant portraits. Later on she had felt ashamed of her childish behavior towards people that had ceased to exist long ago and had confessed her deed to her husband who had enjoyed the tale immensely and comforted his wife, telling her that everyone needed to do something childish once in a while.

Hermione sighed in remembrance and looking at her son again she turned on the night light. Someone entered the nursery and she felt strong arms surrounding her waist.

"Is he asleep?"

"Yes, he's exhausted. I assume that Ryan didn't have a tale tonight?"

"He was snoring before I had finished the first sentence. I doubt that either of them would wake up in the night."

Hermione giggled and turned around to kiss her husband, Draco returned the kiss with passion while intertwining his hand in Hermione's hair, his other hand wandering over her body. They ended the kiss when they were out of breath.

"Let's go to our room, I want to have you comfortable in the bed so I can play with you."

Hermione smiled wickedly at Draco's words and waited as the blond leaned into the crib to kiss his baby good night, then they walked to the corridor and closed the door quietly.

Once outside Hermione looked longingly at the door for some precious seconds.

"Everything alright love?"

"Yes." She turned around to face Draco's intense eyes. "I really love my boys, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a girl."

Draco rolled his eyes at her and he lifted her into his arms, making her gasp in surprise.

"Draco! What are you doing?"

He kissed her lips passionately and started to walk down the corridor to the next door that was of their bedroom.

"Well, if you want a girl so badly, I think that we should start planning our next vacation."

Hermione's eyes brightened and she surrounded Draco's neck with her arms, giving him kisses all along his jaw, while he opened their bedroom's door and carried his wife to the bed.

The End.

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Finally!! It had been fun. I hope that was not too awkward. Thank you to all of you that read and enjoyed this, double thanks to the ones that reviewed.

I want to say special thanks to Audrey and Shelly Ann for having betae'd the first twelve or so chapters and to my friend Wintermyst for betaing the last four.

As some of you had already realized, my first language is not English, it's Spanish, so any comment that you can give about my grammar or vocabulary are pretty appreciated any time as I'm always trying to improve.

Again Thanks a lot and hope you had enjoyed it.


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